[Nyclocal] Fwd: Guantanamo Activist found Guilty - Sentencing Friday, May 29th

[William Wharton]

--- "Matthew W. Daloisio" <daloisio at earthlink.net>
wrote:

> Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 23:14:38 -0400
> From: "Matthew W. Daloisio" <daloisio at earthlink.net>
> To: Witness Against Torture
> <discuss at witnesstorture.org>
> Subject: Guantanamo Activist found Guilty -
> Sentencing Friday, May 29th
> 
> Hello all-
> 
> One of the most powerful days in court I have ever
> experienced.
> The article below from the Washington Post gives a
> good overview, and 
> we'll have more statements, videos, and other
> materials posted to 
> www.witnesstorture.org soon.
> 
> Sentencing is tomorrow (Friday, May 29th).  It may
> be that you won't see 
> e-mail from me for a bit.  Please keep us in your
> thoughts and prayers 
> as we go in for sentencing tomorrow...but more
> important, please 
> remember those on whose behalf we stand: the men in
> Guantanamo.
> 
> Peace-
> Matt
> 
> -----------------------------------------------
> 
> 34 Convicted in Display At U.S. Supreme Court
> Protesters Had Decried Guantanamo
> 
> By Keith L. Alexander
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Friday, May 30, 2008; B01
> 
>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052903103.html?hpid=moreheadlines
> 
> Thirty-four people were convicted yesterday of
> misdemeanor charges 
> stemming from a demonstration at the Supreme Court
> in January in which 
> they decried conditions at the U.S. military prison
> at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
> 
> D.C. Superior Court Judge Wendell P. Gardner Jr.
> said the demonstrators 
> violated the law by protesting at the plaza of the
> Supreme Court, where 
> such activities are banned. He rejected arguments
> that they were 
> practicing free speech when they marched to the
> plaza, despite warnings 
> from police, carrying banners and wearing T-shirts
> saying "Shut down 
> Guantanamo."
> 
> The demonstration occurred Jan. 11, the sixth
> anniversary of the opening 
> of the detention facility, which was set up to house
> terrorism suspects. 
> During a three-day trial, prosecutors presented a
> videotape that showed 
> several officers warning the protesters to remain on
> the sidewalk, where 
> demonstrations are legal, or risk arrest.
> 
> During the trial, many of the 21 men and 13 women
> wore orange jumpsuits 
> to show solidarity with Guantanamo detainees. When
> the defendants spoke, 
> they gave their name and then the name, age and a
> brief biography of 
> someone they described as a Guantanamo detainee.
> Many wore a tag bearing 
> the name of a detainee.
> 
> As Gardner began explaining his ruling, one of the
> defendants, Paul 
> Magno of the District, stood up and turned away from
> the judge. Gardner 
> ordered a marshal to arrest Magno for contempt of
> court. Magno was 
> escorted out, but not before shouting to the judge:
> "You have committed 
> a crime against justice."
> 
> The judge ordered all defendants to return to court
> today for 
> sentencing. Each faces up to 60 days in jail.
> Gardner said most will 
> probably get probation. Those who had prior
> convictions, mostly for 
> civil disobedience or disturbing the peace, could be
> jailed, Gardner 
> said, to stop them from doing "the same thing over
> and over."
> 
> Because the charges were misdemeanors punishable by
> less than six months 
> in jail, the case was heard by a judge instead of a
> jury.
> 
> After the decision, several defendants said they
> weren't surprised by 
> the ruling but were pleased that they could voice
> their concerns about 
> Guantanamo in court.
> 
> "We're sad about the convictions, but we're happy,
> moved and humbled to 
> bring the stories, names and identification of the
> men in Guantanamo 
> into a court of law," said Frida Berrigan, 34, of
> Brooklyn. She is the 
> daughter of the late Philip Berrigan, a former Roman
> Catholic priest who 
> was a major figure in the American peace movement
> during the Vietnam War.
> 
> The protesters are part of a group called Witness
> Against Torture, which 
> has held demonstrations across the country
> condemning the prison. 
> Members range in age from 19 to their early 70s.
> 
> The defendants represented themselves at trial, and
> their closing 
> arguments drew emotional responses from each other
> and from supporters 
> in the courtroom. Several wiped away tears as two
> defendants spoke on 
> behalf of the group, citing the actions of Martin
> Luther King Jr. and 
> others.
> 
> Earlier in the trial, the judge had dismissed
> charges against a 35th 
> defendant because he said he had not been
> conclusively identified by 
> police in a review of the videotape.
> 
> Before Gardner issued his ruling yesterday, one of
> the defendants stood 
> and asked for a moment of silence for the detainees.
> Assistant U.S. 
> Attorney Magdalena Acevedo quickly jumped to her
> feet to object.
> 
> "Your honor, this is a court of law. And no matter
> what we may think of 
> their personal beliefs, it does not justify them
> violating the law," 
> Acevedo said.
> 
> ###
> 
> 
> OTHER PRESS LINKS:
> Activists Appear in Court as Guantanamo Prisoners
> by Haider Rizvi
> http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/29/9284/
> 
> Giving Voice to the Guantánamo Detainees
> by Witness Against Torture
> http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/27/9217/
> 
> Statement Explaining Silence of Defendants
> Read in court by Matt Daloisio — May 27
> http://www.witnesstorture.org/5.27.silent
> 
> Reflection on Sami al-Haj
> by Susan Crane/Witness Against Torture
> http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/28/9261/
> 
> A Plea of Innocence and a Plea for Humanity
> by Witness Against Torture
> http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/29/9276/
> 
> -- 
> Matthew W. Daloisio
> daloisio at riseup.net
> 
> New York Catholic Worker - Maryhouse
> 55 East 3rd Street, NY, NY 10003
> Witness Against Torture - www.witnesstorture.org
> War Resisters League - www.warresisters.org
> 
> 
> 
>