Housing Justice Village Arrestees Respond to Jailing by City of Oakland
Dave Id | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
In a political show of force, the city of Oakland directed a small army of police to mass arrest and jail 22 housing rights demonstrators on November 24, for nothing more than setting up tents in front of city hall to protest the city's never ending war against the homeless. Most arrestees spent at least 24 hours in Santa Rita, and some remained jailed for over two days, on what would otherwise be a citable infraction. On December 2, arrestees held a press conference to address the city's attack and why they protested in the first place.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/26/18829176.php

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Orders Mass Arrest of Housing Justice Village Protesters
Dave Id | indybay.org | 2019-12-27
An inspirational day of solidarity with unhoused Oaklanders turned into a traumatic night after mayor Libby Schaaf directed a small army of police and DPW workers to smash a housing rights protest held on the doorstep of City Hall. For daring to challenge the Oakland's never ending war against the homeless — the city's encampment demolitions and evictions, the towing of residential vehicles, and a lack of earnestness and urgency in addressing the housing crisis — twenty-two people were arrested and sent to Santa Rita jail, some for over two days.
indybay.org/newsitems/2019/12/23/18829113.php

Lula To Fight Neoliberalism to Restore Democracy in Brazil
telesurenglish.net | 2019-12-27
The former president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said Thursday that he has the will to fight to restore democracy in his country and to fight against the current situation of people under the government of Jair Bolsonaro. | RELATED: | Brazil's Senate Advances Bill That May Send Lula Back to Prison | In an exclusive interview for teleSUR, the Workers Party leader reiterated that the South American nation has "all the conditions to recover a democratic debate … and co…
telesurenglish.net/news/lula-to-fight-neoliberalism-and-restore-democracy-in-brazil–20191226-0020.html

Assad plans to sue the US over 'stealing' Syria's oil
rt.com | 2019-12-27
Syria's government is considering suing the United States in an international court over what a senior advisor to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad referred to as the 'stealing' of Syria's oil. | "Syria is looking into the possibility of filing an international lawsuit against the United States, due to the fact that they steal Syrian oil," Bouthaina Shaaban, Syrian Presidential Adviser, told Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV in an interview, carried by Iran's Fars news agency. | After a surprise announcement of pulling the…
rt.com/business/476931-syria-assad-oil-lawsuit-us/

Bolsonaro signs law ending disciplinary detention for military police and firefighters
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-27
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has signed into law a bill that eliminates jail time as a punishment for military police and firefighters convicted of disciplinary offenses, according to the Official Gazette on Friday.All Brazilian states have 12 months to implement the necessary changes to their own legislation.
yenisafak.com/en/news/bolsonaro-signs-law-ending-disciplinary-detention-for-military-police-and-firefighters-3508391

Seven daily staff to serve jail terms over FETàñ ties
yenisafak.com | 2019-12-27
A Turkish court on Friday ruled jail term for seven employees of Turkish daily Sozcu on charges of assisting Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETàñ) — the group behind the 2016 defeated coup — a judicial source said.Heavy Penal Court No. 37 in Istanbul sentenced the suspects to prison over the charge of "willfully assisting a terrorist organization".Two correspondents, Emin Colasan and Necati Dogru were sentenced to three years and six months in prison.The daily's website editor Mustafa Cetin and chief editor Metin Yilmaz were sentenced to three years and four months in prison.The same court sentenced Yu…
yenisafak.com/en/news/seven-daily-staff-to-serve-jail-terms-over-feto-ties-3508382

Independent UN rights experts raise alarm over 'incommunicado detention' of Chinese scholar
news.un.org | 2019-12-26
Independent United Nations human rights experts expressed apprehension on Thursday over the "incommunicado detention" of a Uyghur Muslim academic who has reportedly been sentenced to death.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054311

I Was Jailed for my Trafficker's Death. I'm Free Now—But Other Women Languish
Cyntoia Brown-Long | commondreams.org | 2019-12-26
For every injustice we see in the criminal-justice system, there is a law, practice or policy that allowed it to happen. (Photo: @CBSNews/Twitter) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/cyntoia.jpg …
commondreams.org/views/2019/12/26/i-was-jailed-my-traffickers-death-im-free-now-other-women-languish?cd-origin=rss

Mother: 'I Could Not Recognise my Daughter due to Severe Torture Inside Israeli Jails'
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-26
Mother of Palestinian student, Mais abu Ghoush, 20, said that she 'could not recognise her daughter due to severe torture inside Israeli jails,' Palestine Post 24 reported. "After a month in the Israeli investigation centre of Al Maskopia in Jerusalem, her father and I were allowed to see her," the …
imemc.org/article/mother-i-could-not-recognise-my-daughter-due-to-severe-torture-inside-israeli-jails/

Palestinian Prisoners' Society: At Least Seven Palestinians Detained from West Bank
IMEMC & Agencies | imemc.org | 2019-12-26
In a press release, the Palestine Prisoners' Society (PPS) stated that Israeli forces detained at least seven Palestinians, overnight Wednesday, in multiple incursions across the West Bank, the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported. Israeli forces rounded up two Palestinians from the northern West Bank district of Qalqilia, one …
imemc.org/article/palestinian-prisoners-society-at-least-seven-palestinians-detained-from-west-bank/

Reports That Bloomberg's Campaign Exploited Women's Prison Labor Spark Outrage
Staff | truthout.org | 2019-12-26
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign relied on women incarcerated at an Oklahoma prison to make campaign calls to California, The Intercept reports. | The Bloomberg campaign confirmed the arrangement to the outlet but said it had canceled its contract with a third-party vendor after The Intercept's John Washington began asking questions. | The vendor, ProCo…
truthout.org/articles/reports-that-bloombergs-campaign-exploited-womens-prison-labor-spark-outrage/

Immigration detention centers "rife with abuse," investigation reveals
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2019-12-24
An investigation into the detention centers maintained under the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), by USA Today, revealed rampant physical and sexual abuse of migrant detainees. The investigation, published on December 23, analyzed inspection reports since 2015, and identified more than 16,000 reports of violence, apart from hundreds of documents and records of inspections, lawsuits, finance reports and contracts. The investigation also documented 35 first hand accounts from current and former detainees, about the conditions inside the centers. | This is the largest and the most extensive i…
peoplesdispatch.org/2019/12/24/immigration-detention-centers-rife-with-abuse-investigation-reveals/

Trump boasts of Democrats' backing for his assault on immigrants
wsws.org | 2019-12-24
With bipartisan support, conditions on the US-Mexico border and in detention centers for immigrants have become increasingly hellish.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/24/immi-d24.html

Across the Country Harsh Sentencing Laws are Tearing Apart Families and Communities
Nicole Zayas Fortier | aclu.org | 2019-12-24
During the holiday season, in the picturesque town of Petoskey, | Michigan, Kimiko Uyeda, and her son Marshall celebrate with an annual tradition | of selecting a new ornament to add to | their tree. Year after year, Kimko and Marshall add to their collection | of ornaments as a part of their tradition. | For years, however, they were separated from one another and | unable to enjoy this holiday tradition together. It all began in 2013 when Kimko was arrested for | filing what the local sheriff believed to be a false police report. Because of | broken sentencing laws, the prosecutor in the case was able to add…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/across-the-country-harsh-sentencing-laws-are-tearing-apart-families-and-communities

Restraining Order In Food Stamp Notice Lawsuit Submitted to Judge for Approval
commondreams.org | 2019-12-24
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2019/12/24/restraining-order-food-stamp-notice-lawsuit-submitted-judge-approval?cd-origin=rss

Guterres stresses need for independent, 'impartial investigation' into Saudi journalist Khashoggi's death
news.un.org | 2019-12-24
As Saudi Arabia handed death sentences to five people and sent three others to jail for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the United Nations Secretary-General continued to stress the need for "an independent and impartial investigation".
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054261

A Trump Reelection Aide Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud
John Nichols | thenation.com | 2019-12-24
A Trump Reelection Aide Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud…
thenation.com/article/voter-suppression-trump-aide/

Much work needed to 'target unacceptable levels' of racism in Ecuador: UN experts
news.un.org | 2019-12-23
Ecuador must implement and enforce laws and policies to protect the rights of Afro-Ecuadorians, the UN Working Group on People of African Descent said on Monday, calling for an end to the "discrimination, exclusion and extreme poverty they suffer."
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2019/12/1054201

Medical Opinion, Torture, and Julian Assange
Binoy Kampmark | dissidentvoice.org | 2019-12-21
On November 27 this year, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, delivered an address to the German Bundestag outlining his approach to understanding the mental health of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. These comprised two parts, the initial stage covering his diplomatic asylum in the Ecuadorean embassy, the second dealing with his formal detention in …
dissidentvoice.org/2019/12/medical-opinion-torture-and-julian-assange/

Four Lawyers. Four Projects. One Non-Stop Year
aclu.org | 2019-12-20
It isn't news that the Trump administration has kept ACLU attorneys working at breakneck speed for the past three years. In 2019 alone, we saw historic moments and victories–from defeating the citizenship question on the 2020 census and bringing the first trans civil rights case to the Supreme Court, to blocking a wave of abortion bans and many of the administration's attempts to dismantle the asylum system. To name a few. | Here are some of our attorneys' takes on 2019 and the year ahead–what's changed for the better and for the worse, and how the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will a…
aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/four-lawyers-four-projects-one-non-stop-year

A Fair Chance at Opportunity: The U.S. Government Bans the Box
Kanya Bennett | aclu.org | 2019-12-20
When Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) reintroduced the Fair Chance Act earlier this year, he | said: "This bill would give individuals who are reentering society from prison | a fair chance at truly achieving the American dream." The Fair Chance Act would | ban the box that employers use to ask about arrest and conviction history on | job applications. It also requires that federal agencies and contr…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/a-fair-chance-at-opportunity-the-u-s-government-bans-the-box

Public housing residents sue NYC over slum conditions
Liberation staff | liberationnews.org | 2019-12-20
In addition to demanding repairs, residents involved in this lawsuit are demanding full public funding for NYCHA.
liberationnews.org/public-housing-residents-sue-nyc-over-slum-conditions/

'Silent plight' carolers show solidarity with county jail inmates
Martha Grevatt | workers.org | 2019-12-20
Cleveland Question: Where are holiday carolers unwelcome this time of year? Answer: In the Cuyahoga County "Justice Center," when they represent the Coalition to Stop the Inhumanity at the Cuyahoga County Jail, and they have changed the words "Silent night, holy night" to "Silent plight, violated rights." Singing rewritten . . . | Continue reading 'Silent plight' carolers show solidarity with county jail inmates at Workers.org…
workers.org/2019/12/45021/

Samsung boss sent to prison for union busting
Al Neal | peoplesworld.org | 2019-12-20
There are roughly 7,111 languages spoken around the world. As we close out 2019 and enter 2020, that number will increase (or decrease) as we continue to understand, grasp, and document what constitutes a spoken or written language. In any case, and in any language, we can all agree: Union busting is disgusting. And, unlike …
peoplesworld.org/article/samsung-boss-sent-to-prison-for-union-busting/

Ex-FBI employee gets 7 DAYS in jail for hacking emails of right-wing activist 'to protect Mueller'
rt.com | 2019-12-20
The DC Swamp is so small that people on both sides of the aisle are bound to rub elbows, such as the ex-FBI official who tried stopping his neighbor from harming special counsel Robert Mueller's reputation by hacking his email. | Mark Tolson, 60, was sentenced to seven days in jail and 50 hours of community service on Friday, even though the judge called his crime 'very serious.' The former FBI analyst hacked into the email account of his neighbor, right-wing activist Jack Burkman, and tried to publish that information in the media. | Tolson pleaded guilty in September to illegally hacking Burkman's email acco…
rt.com/usa/476535-fbi-mueller-hacking-jail/

US 'disappointed' with UK charging diplomat's wife involved in fatal crash who 'won't return voluntarily'
rt.com | 2019-12-20
The wife of a US diplomat who killed a teenage motorcyclist in a fatal crash in August has said through a lawyer that she won't return to the UK to face a possible jail sentence after prosecutors announced charges against her. | …
rt.com/usa/476519-sacoolas-diplomat-imunity-britain/

10 LGBTQ Moments that Defined 2019
aclu.org | 2019-12-19
1. Aimee Stephens goes to the Supreme Court: | In October, the Supreme Court heard its first trans civil rights case ever. The case was brought by our client Aimee Stephens, who was fired from her job at a funeral home solely for being transgender. That's sex discrimination and it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. , | We have yet to see whether the Supreme Court will uphold the civil rights of trans people. But no matter what, history has already been made. , | "I'll never forget the feeling of coming out of the Supreme Court and seeing a crowd of trans people and allies chanting to…
aclu.org/news/lgbt-rights/10-lgbtq-moments-that-defined-2019

A Secret CBP Team is Targeting and Detaining Innocent Travelers. We're Suing
Tarek Ismail | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying secret teams that target, detain, and interrogate innocent travelers. We're suing to expose their activities. | In November 2018, three CBP officers detained Andreas | Gal, a former chief | technology officer at Mozilla Corporation and current Apple employee, at San | Francisco International Airport after he landed from a business trip to Sweden. | Andr…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/a-secret-cbp-team-is-targeting-and-detaining-innocent-travelers-were-suing

A Little-Known Privacy Battle Is Being Waged Over Encrypting the Nuts and Bolts of the Internet
Daniel Kahn Gillmor | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
An important fight is brewing over the nuts and bolts of the | Internet that has significant implications for the privacy and security of all Internet | users. The fight has already pitted Google and Cloudflare against American | telecommunications companies, which are lobbying | Congress | to complain about the search giant. The fight is complicated, but at its core | are questions about c…
aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/a-little-known-privacy-battle-is-being-waged-over-encrypting-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-the-internet

A Tennessee City Banned Surgical Abortion Within the City Limits. We're Taking Them to Court
Melissa Grant | aclu.org | 2019-12-18
For 30 years, I have | worked in reproductive health care. In my current role as Chief Operating | Officer of carafem, a nonprofit with a national network of health centers, I | know the difference compassionate and comprehensive reproductive health care | makes in the lives of our clients. I have witnessed the personal impact when | people who have the legal right to have a child or to have an abortion are denied | those rights due to outrageous societal barriers. Abortion providers are used | to opposition, but we've never experienced the kind of explicit targeting we | received from politicians in the city…
aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/a-tennessee-city-banned-surgical-abortion-within-the-city-limits-were-taking-them-to-court

US Venezuelan embassy protectors denied right to fair trial
The Grayzone | thegrayzone.com | 2019-12-17
Four US activists protecting Venezuela's embassy in Washington, DC face prison time after the Trump administration illegally arrested them. And now…
thegrayzone.com/2019/12/16/venezuelan-embassy-defenders-denied-right-fair-trial/

Democratic Candidates Focus on Public Education at Historic Forum with Civil Rights & Labor Groups
Staff | democracynow.org | 2019-12-17
Ahead of the last Democratic presidential debate of the year this Thursday, seven candidates appeared Saturday at the historic Democratic Presidential Forum on Public Education in Pittsburgh, an event organized by public education organizations, unions, civil rights organizations and community groups. We play highlights from the forum and get response from Keron Blair, director of the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools in Atlanta; Jitu Brown, national director of the Journey for Justice Alliance; and Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education Action. She recently authored a report titled "S…
www.democracynow.org/2019/12/17/democratic_presidential_forum_on_public_education

It's Clear: In Oklahoma Cash Bail is Being Used as Ransom to Keep People Who Are Poor Behind Bars
Twyla Carter | aclu.org | 2019-12-17
Imagine you are one of the 4,000 people arrested every year in Canadian County, Oklahoma, a county with less than 200,000 people. Maybe the police find marijuana in your car during a traffic stop, maybe the police have mistaken you for someone else, or perhaps you can't afford the $40 per month you owe the court from a different charge. | After you're arrested, things will go one of two ways. You may | spend an hour or two in the jail for booking and then go home until your court | date. Or, you might sit in jail for weeks or months until your court date, | eating substandard food and sleeping on a linoleum fl…
aclu.org/news/smart-justice/its-clear-in-oklahoma-cash-bail-is-being-used-as-ransom-to-keep-people-who-are-poor-behind-bars

He spent 36 years in prison because he stole $100 in cash and $4 in food stamps. Now Willie Parker is free
Will Tucker | splcenter.org | 2019-12-16
It was pouring rain the day Willie Parker left William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility after 36 years in prison.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/17/he-spent-36-years-prison-because-he-stole-100-cash-and-4-food-stamps-now-willie-parker-free

Cop Charged with Making Multiple False Arrests
Staff | therealnews.com | 2019-12-14
Baltimore Police Sgt Ethan Newberg is facing 32 counts of false imprisonment and assault for using illegal arrests to intimidate the community, prosecutors allege.
therealnews.com/stories/cop_charged_with_making_multiple_false_arrests

Weekend Read: Amid Alabama's prison crisis, the voices of the people living through it should be heard
splcenter.org | 2019-12-13
For years, Alabama's prison system has been under a microscope. Harsh sentencing laws coupled with chronic underfunding have led to horrific conditions for people behind bars.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/13/weekend-read-amid-alabamas-prison-crisis-voices-people-living-through-it-should-be-heard

SPLC lawsuit seeks to restore Mississippi citizens' right to vote
splcenter.org | 2019-12-04
When they were children, Herman Parker and his three sisters went to their grandparents' house every election day.
splcenter.org/news/2019/12/04/splc-lawsuit-seeks-restore-mississippi-citizens-right-vote

Prison By Any Other Name: A Report on South Florida Detention Facilities
splcenter.org | 2019-12-02
splcenter.org/20191209/prison-any-other-name-report-south-florida-detention-facilities

Civil Rights Are on the Chopping Block in New Supreme Court Term
Marjorie Cohn | zcomm.org | 2019-12-02
Hello, A very small proportion of ZNet content is available only to Sustainers. You can become a sustainer for a small repeating donation – monthly or yearly via the links for Sustaining, or Donating, available on the top page of ZNet.
zcomm.org/zmagazine/civil-rights-are-on-the-chopping-block-in-new-supreme-court-term/