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Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners

The National Committee to Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners campaigned around many issues, regarding the 15 Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War. One of the primary focuses of the organization, in addition to building awareness and solidarity with the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, was to make people aware of the distinction between international law vs. US domestic law and further explain why the captured Puerto Ricans declared themselves POWs. The materials contained in this collection range from 1981-1998 and include general flyers and pamphlets about the issues, newsletters from 1980s and monographs which delve into international law and the right to struggle against colonialism, the political stance of the PPs and POWs and their ideas, poems and lives.

The 15 prisoners were: Edwin Cortes, Ida Luz Rodriguez, Elizam Escobar, Alberto Rodriguez, Alejandrina Torres, Ricardo Jimenez, Carmen Valentin, Carlos Alberto Torres, Juan Segarra Palmer, Antonio Camacho Negron, Luis Rosa, Dylcia Pagan, Adolfo Matos, Alicia Rodriguez, Oscar Lopez Rivera.  Only Oscar Lopez Rivera is still incarcerated.

Documents

Tribute to Jose E. Lopez Tribute to Jose E. Lopez
Date: 10/31/1999Volume Number: 31-OctFormat: ProgramCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Program from a 1999 tribute to Jose Lopez in Chicago.
25 Years of Struggle, 25 Years of Resistance: Document No. 2 25 Years of Struggle, 25 Years of Resistance: Document No. 2
Publisher: National Committee to Free the Four Puerto Rican Prisoners of WarYear: 1978Format: MonographCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Memorandum from Lolita Lebron re: the case of Puerto Rico and its Nationalist Prisoners from the November 1, 1954 attack on the Capitol and Congress.
25 Years of Struggle, 25 Years of Resistance: Document No. 1 25 Years of Struggle, 25 Years of Resistance: Document No. 1
Publisher: National Committee to Free the Four Puerto Rican Prisoners of WarYear: 1978Format: MonographCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Contents: Introduction; Factual Background; Petitioners; Standing; Exhaustion of Remedies; Accusation; Conclusion; Appendix.
Petition to the U.N. on P.O.W. Status Petition to the U.N. on P.O.W. Status
Publisher: National Committee to Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political PrisonersFormat: MonographCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Contents: Statement of the Case; The Puerto Rican People at War with US Colonialism; The Capture and Prosecution of the Eleven; Petitioners Claim: Under International Law, Captured Puerto Rican Freedom Fightres are Entitled to the Status of Prisoner of War and to Release from Detention and Imprisonment; Conclusion: The US Government has refused to recognize petitioners' status as prisoners of war. The United Nations and its constituent bodies are the approperiate forum for their claim; Appendix.