PRESS RELEASE:
JANUARY 23, 2003
CHARGES ON TWO ANTI-WAR POLITICAL PRISONERS DROPPED; ARESTEES CALL FOR END TO POLITICAL TARGETTING AND WAR ON THE POOR
PRESS RELEASE:
JANUARY 23, 2003
CHARGES ON TWO ANTI-WAR POLITICAL PRISONERS DROPPED; ARESTEES CALL FOR END TO POLITICAL TARGETTING AND WAR ON THE POOR
Contacts:
Jonah Zern, Co-Coordinator, Peace and International Relations Committee, Oakland Education Association, 510.654.8613
Riva Enteen, National Lawyers Guild, 415.285.1055
John Viola, Zern and Rochelles Attorney, 415.902.5491
Charges falsely levied against Jeremy Rochelle, 21, San Francisco, and Jonah Zern, 25, Oakland, at Saturdays major anti-war rally in San Francisco have been dismissed. The two were held in SF City jail for two days and released on Martin Luther King Day on their Own Recognizance. The charges are dismissed pending investigation, a normal charge for protest dismissals that give the District Attorney the right to re-introduce charges for one year.
The community with national and international support played a major role in supporting Rochelle and Zern, both while they were in prison and once they were released. Supporters made calls of support to the District Attorney, Mayor and the Jail and organized a rally of approximately 60 people outside the jail calling for their release. The Guild recognizes that courts are more likely to do the right thing if people create the political climate for them to do so. Said Riva Enteen of the National Lawyers Guild.
Supporters expressed concern that Zern and Rochelles arrests were politically motivated. Many police were seen watching protestors committing illegal actions, while Zern and Rochelle who had done nothing, but are prominent activists in the Bay Area were targeted. �?? Post 9-11 is not a war against terrorism its a war against dissent, there are serious attacks against constitutional rights of speech and association. said Enteen
Zern, a substitute teacher in Oakland, further expressed concern that money diverted from social spending to a war on Iraq would also lead to deepening poverty and more prisoners. Most people I met in prison had committed either crimes of poverty or were singled out as black people. I want to make sure that my arrest helps to shine a spotlight on the bigger issues of the prison industry and how deeply it is hurting communities of color. If the United States goes to war with Iraq, money will be taken away from poor communities and will lead to even worse conditions and more prisoners.
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