Political Prisoners- General Info
Political prisoners are
people prosecuted for their political beliefs or ideologies, activities, and
affiliations with social movements. Political prisoners can be anybody from any
race, culture, age, or gender. They are often associated and identified as
leaders in organizations or movements opposed to the atrocities committed by
the United States government. Some examples of these crimes are the
infringement of privacy, police brutality, genocide of indigenous people,
forced dispossession of land.
The objective of the incarceration of political leaders by the government is to destabilize social movements of resistance. Political prisoners are often given harsh, long term sentences in prisons where they are mistreated on a daily basis. Mistreatment includes extensive periods of time in solitary confinement, denied recreational time, and insufficient visiting time. The primary purpose of mistreatment of political prisoners is to prevent organizing behind prison walls. The government often paints a negative picture of political prisoners by calling them criminals or terrorists in an effort to justify the imprisonment of these people to the general public. Often times when Political Prisoners are being prosecuted, they are charged with other crimes to hide the fact they are being imprisoned for their political beliefs. Their commonality is that they are fighting government oppression and were unjustly prosecuted in an effort to destroy their respective movements.
The objective of the incarceration of political leaders by the government is to destabilize social movements of resistance. Political prisoners are often given harsh, long term sentences in prisons where they are mistreated on a daily basis. Mistreatment includes extensive periods of time in solitary confinement, denied recreational time, and insufficient visiting time. The primary purpose of mistreatment of political prisoners is to prevent organizing behind prison walls. The government often paints a negative picture of political prisoners by calling them criminals or terrorists in an effort to justify the imprisonment of these people to the general public. Often times when Political Prisoners are being prosecuted, they are charged with other crimes to hide the fact they are being imprisoned for their political beliefs. Their commonality is that they are fighting government oppression and were unjustly prosecuted in an effort to destroy their respective movements.
Documents
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![The Resistance Conspiracy](images/fileicons/nodigital.png)
Date: 4/13/1989Call Number: PM 222Format: CassetteProgram: In our VoicesCollection: Political Prisoners- General Info
Judy Greenspan, Mary O’Melviney, and Nikichi Taifa -- lawyers and activists-- discuss the Resistance Conspiracy Case and the struggles for Laura Whitehorn, Marilyn Buck, Linda Evans, Tim Blunk, Susan Rosenberg, and Alan Berkman, all charged with "conspiracy to protest and alter government policies through use of violence," specifically stemming from a bombing of the Capitol Building in 1983.
This broadcast explores the political nature of the case, the lack of evidence and due process involved in this case, as well as the horrendous conditions faced by these prisoners of war. Judy Greenspan, Mary O'Melviney, and Nikichi Taifa also try to contextualize the actions of these prisoners with a broader justice movement against the crimes of the U.S. nationally and internationally.
1 Documents Found