BK/NY – Tuesday, February 15th – Letter-Writing for Anti-War Prisoners

What: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
When: 7pm (sharp), Tuesday, February 15th, 2011
Where: 885 Park Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (see below for directions)
Cost: Free

Resistance to dictators is gaining traction throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. People are organizing in non-hierarchical ways to determine their own collective destinies. And yet here, in the United States, folks who stand up to the grossest military aggressions on Earth are labeled as traitors or terrorists and thrown in prison. This week, we are writing to two anti-war prisoners– Dr. Rafil A. Dhafir and Army Pfc. Bradley Manning.

Dr. Rafil Dhafir is believed to be the only U.S. citizen imprisoned for violating the sanctions on Iraq. He is an American Iraqi-born physician, who was sentenced on October 28, 2005, to 22 years in prison for violating the Iraqi sanctions by sending money to Iraq through his charity Help the Needy. From the outset of the case against Dhafir, the prosecution was duplicitous. Using unfair tactics and innuendo, and aided by a compliant media, the government transformed Dhafir’s community image from a compassionate humanitarian into a crook and supporter of terrorists.

Bradley Manning is a United States Army soldier who was charged in July 2010 with the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, namely to the non-profit media organization WikiLeaks. He has been detained since May 2010, and is being held in “maximum custody” solitary confinement at the Marine Corps Brig, Quantico, Virginia. Manning is expected to face a pre-trial hearing in May 2011 to determine whether or not he should be court-martialed.

For more information, visit:
dhafirtrial.net
bradleymanning.org

In case you aren’t able to make it to dinner, here are Rafil’s and Bradley’s addresses so you can join in from home:

Rafil A. Dhafir #11921-052
FCI Terre Haute
Post Office Box 33
Terre Haute, Indiana 47808

Bradley Manning
c/o Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Avenue, #41
Oakland, California 94610

The deal, as always, is that you come bringing only yourself (and your friends and comrades), and we provide you with a delicious vegan meal, information about the prisoners as well as all of the letter-writing materials and prisoner-letter-writing info you could ever want to use in one evening. In return, you write a thoughtful letter to a political prisoner or prisoner of war of your choosing or, better yet, keep up a long-term correspondence. We’ll also provide some brief updates and pass around birthday cards for the PP/POWs whose birthdays fall in the next two weeks thanks to the Anarchist Birthday Brigade.

DIRECTIONS:
Getting to 885 Park Avenue is simple:
From the J/M/Z:
Flushing Stop: Walk southeast on Broadway (toward Sumner Place, away from Thornton Street) and make a right on Park Avenue. We’re halfway down the block, on your right.
Myrtle Stop: Walk northwest on Broadway (toward Melrose Street, away from Troutman Street) and make a left on Park Avenue. We’re halfway down the block on the right.

From the G Train:
Flushing Avenue Stop: Walk south on Marcy Avenue (toward Hopkins Street, away from Wallabout Street) and turn left on Park Avenue. We’re three and a half blocks down on the left.
Myrtle-Willoughby Avenues Stop: Walk north on Marcy Avenue (toward Stockton Street, away from Vernon Avenue) and turn right on Park Avenue. We’re three and a half blocks down on your left.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch. Otherwise, we’ll see you at supper.

This event is brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Anarchist Black Cross.–

ABCF-NYC
Post Office Box 110034
Brooklyn, New York 11211

nycabc[at]riseup[dot]net
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Free all Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War!
For the Abolition of State Repression and Domination!