Vieques and Leonard!!

The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign urges folks to read and forward out these 
two important messages around the local organizing work for Vieques and an 
Update on our brother Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier.

The ProLibertad Freedom Campaign
ProLibertad@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.ProLibertad.org
Bronx 718-601-4751
Manhattan 212-927-9065
New Jersey 201-435-3244
_______________________________________________________________________
>Please Pass ON!
>
>The U.S. Navy has announced for Monday, April 1st, the renewal of bombing 
>practices on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. These war rehearsals will 
>take place despite the continued protests by the people living on the 
>island.  The Committee for the Rescue & Development of Vieques has called 
>on everyone to protest this outrage.
>
>Monday, April 1
>THE DAY U.S. NAVY BOMBINGS BEGIN WE WILL STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF VIEQUES
>
>David Sanes Brigade 6:AM
>Protest at Good Morning America and the Today Show
>46St. and 6th Ave  <Bring flags, posters and banners>
>For more info. call (917) 622-5847
>
>Vieques Support Campaign, 4:30 PM
>Protest at the Office of Federal Affairs of Puerto Rico
>Located at 3 Park Avenue (Between 33RD AND 34TH ST.)
>in Manhattan, New York City
>For more info.
>http://palfrente.tripod.com
>E-mail viequessc@xxxxxxxxxxx
_______________________________________________________________________

UNTIL FREEDOM IS WON!
UPDATE ON THE PELTIER CAMPAIGN FOR TRUTH AND JUSTICE

INCLUDED IN THIS MESSAGE:
Updates on the Motion to Reduce Leonard's Sentence, Progress Made Toward
Obtaining New Evidence, Civil Rights Case, Government Reform Committee

Dear Friends,

We are writing today with both good and bad news on the case of Leonard
Peltier.  But before we begin we want to thank all of you who have been
sponsoring LPDC speakers and organizing Peltier events in your communities.
Raising awareness continues to be essential and supporters have organized
several successful events.   Let's keep the LPDC speakers bureau busy and
word of Leonard's case flowing!  We also want to let you know that there
will be three important events on June 26 marking 27 years since the
shoot-out occurred.  They include gatherings in Oglala, South Dakota, San
Francisco, California and Boston, Massachusetts.  We encourage you to plan
on attending one of these events or organizing something in your community.
More details will be released soon.

BAD NEWS, BUT NOT SURPRISING
We regret to announce that the motion to reduce Leonard's sentence was
denied by the U.S. District Court of North Dakota.  We expected this case to
be a challenge because of the many procedural obstacles it involved combined
with the political nature of the Peltier case, especially in this district.
However, we had hoped for more fairness given that Judge Benson, who tried
Leonard, is no longer hearing cases.

Judge Magnison denied the motion without a hearing based upon issues of
timeliness.  A motion to reduce sentence is supposed to be filed within a
year following a conviction.  However, we argued that filing at this late
date was justified because of significant developments that occurred since
trial, citing cases in which exceptions had been made due to extraordinary
circumstances.  The court said that the significant developments in question
(government admission that it can't prove who shot agents/ballistics) had
already been litigated.  Judge Magnison refused to consider these issues
despite the clearly different character of the case, which sought a review
of sentence and not a new trial like before. Attorney Eric Seitz is
appealing the decision to the Eighth Circuit.

NOW WHAT?
We MUST obtain new evidence and demand a new trial for Leonard Peltier.  We
are confident that key evidence exists in the thousands of documents that
are withheld by the FBI and fortunately, we are moving closer to obtaining
them.

GOOD NEWS!
Thanks to the persistent letters of supporters in Massachusetts,
Representative Barney Frank wrote to the FBI insisting that the withheld
documents be released given Clinton's Executive Order requiring the
disclosure of documents after the passage of 25 years.  The FBI Office of
Public and Congressional Affairs responded by saying, "After receipt of your
letter.the FBI consulted with the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) to request that the investigative records pertaining
to Mr. Peltier that are 25 years or older be considered of significant
historical interest subject to declassification review.  NARA agreed and the
process of declassification review has begun.  Upon completion, the material
will be accessioned to NARA and a declassified copy will be provided to your
office.  We anticipate completion of this project by the end of the year."
Attorney Mike Kuzma, who is handling Leonard's FOIA requests, wrote to NARA
to learn when the declassification would be completed.  Mike also asked that
he be provided copies of the documents.  NARA responded, "We have been
informed that the records are still in the physical and legal custody of the
FBI.  The FBI has completed its declassification review and is currently
processing the records for transfer to NARA and their subsequent public
release.  The transfer is expected to occur in May of this year.  Following
the transfer, NARA may require additional time to prepare for the public
release of the records."  This is a very positive development for us and
strengthens our chances for obtaining new information.  Furthermore, the
documents are now protected against destruction because of their historical
classification.  The battle is not over, as we expect the documents to be
partly censored for reasons of "national security" like before.  But, we
plan to demand the full release and exposure of the documents in court.

It should also be noted that Mike Kuzma continues to pursue the documents
through the Freedom of Information Act process.  Requests have been
submitted to FBI headquarters and numerous field offices across the country.
With the exception of Portland, Oregon, all offices have reported that they
possess records.  We anticipate filing one or several suits to demand the
release of these documents in the near future.  Mike Kuzma is also working
with law students involved in the Innocence Project of Osgoode Hall and the
LPDC of Canada to obtain documents generated around the extradition.

MORE GOOD NEWS!
The civil rights complaint against the FBI has been drafted and the
finishing touches are being added now.   This case argues that the FBI
violated Leonard's Constitutional Rights by lying to the Department of
Justice, former President Clinton, the Parole Commission, and the public
with the sole intention of denying Leonard fair clemency and parole reviews,
thus costing him his long deserved freedom.  We plan to do a major press
blitz on the day the case is filed and we will need your participation.
This is our chance to undo much of the disinformation disseminated by the
FBI through the press in recent years.  Please be prepared to forward the
press release to your local media.  We will let you know when we determine
the exact date it will be filed.  Please stay tuned.

NOTE:  This case represents another opportunity to access the withheld FBI
documents through discovery.

KEEP PUSHING CONGRESS FOR INVESTIGATIONS!
Meanwhile, a window of opportunity continues to exist with the House
Committee on Government Reform.  As you know this committee is planning to
investigate cases of FBI misconduct leading to wrongful convictions.  We
must press the Reform Committee to shine its spot light on Leonard's case.
Please continue to write Representative Burton on a regular basis, and cc
your letters to your representative. A recent phone call to Rep Burton's
office indicates that he is collecting and taking notice of our letters.
Please send us copies of any response letters you receive from officials so
that we can track their positions.

LET US KNOW
Let us know if you are organizing anything for Leonard whether it be for
June 26 or any other date so that we can help by publicizing it. Do not
hesitate to contact us to share your ideas and suggestions about building
pressure and awareness for the freedom of Leonard Peltier!

Thank you.

In Solidarity,
LPDC







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