Chicago, IL – Aaron Patterson was sentenced to 30 years in prison on trumped-up gun and drug charges, Aug. 14. Patterson was targeted for prosecution because of his powerful activism against police misconduct in Chicago. The case hinged on a government informant, a known drug dealer and gang leader, who Patterson says was trying to entrap him.

a Fight Back! exclusive interview with Agustin Jimenez

Bogotá, Colombia – Tom Burke, a reporter for Fight Back! conducted the following interview with Agustin Jimenez Cuello, the president of the Committee in Solidarity with Political Prisoners, on Dec. 7. Agustin Jimenez is the lawyer who represents the Colombia Three – three Irish political activists imprisoned in Colombia on politically motivated, false charges. The three are awaiting the continuation of their trial.

The Case of Omar Pilgrim

The Union County, NJ, case of Omar Pilgrim is a flagrant example of the racist abuses of the United States criminal ‘justice’ system. In March 2005 Judge John Triarsi gave Omar, an African-American, a prison sentence of eight years on a first offense in a matter involving $6.75. He must serve six years before he is eligible for parole.

Chicago, IL – The need for an independent federal investigation into the death of May Molina – a Puerto Rican activist who died in police custody May 27 – is becoming more urgent. The son of Molina, Michael Ortiz, was arrested with his mother in the police raid. He was charged with drug possession and jailed.

Los Angeles, CA – The case of Rosario Muñoz, a victim of domestic violence and of court injustice, has reached a critical point. At a press conference, April 9, the Free Rosario Muñoz Committee announced the denial of the writ of habeas corpus petition by a Superior Court judge – and her pending deportation. She will appeal to a higher court, a process that takes at least six months, but as things stand, she will be deported to Mexico.

Chicago, IL – Juan and Henry Johnson spent almost their entire adult lives in prison, fighting charges for a murder they didn’t commit.

Chicago, IL – Former death row inmate Aaron Patterson, who was pardoned by Illinois governor George Ryan in January, filed a federal lawsuit seeking $30 million. The lawsuit targets Commander Jon Burge and seven other police officers from Area 2 police station. They were involved in the torture of Patterson and many others. The lawsuit also targets current and former top police officials, the current prosecutor and a former prosecutor for covering up the systematic torture.

Chicago, IL – Aaron Patterson is one of the four death row inmates pardoned by Illinois Governor Ryan on Jan. 10. Sentenced to die in 1989 for murders he did not commit, he is one of the many tortured by Area 2 Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge.

San Jose, CA – A standing ovation greeted Maha El Genaidi’s denouncement of “Bush’s secret government of oil barons and multinational corporations,” as she blasted the attacks on Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians at the annual Day of Remembrance program. The theme of the program was “Race Prejudice, War Hysteria, and a Failure of Political Leadership,” and it made the connection between the World War II internment of Japanese Americans into concentration camps and today’s attacks on civil liberties as the U.S. government wages war on Iraq.

San Jose, CA – More than 200 people gathered at the Buddhist Church in San Jose's Japantown, Feb. 17, for the annual Day of Remembrance program. For more than twenty years, the Japanese American community has commemorated President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which led to the removal of 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes on the west coast, and forced their imprisonment in U.S. concentration camps during World War II.

What happened to Dr. Wen Ho Lee was a crime. His jailers are the ones who belong behind bars.

America's rulers are serial killers. They have killed before and left to their own devices, they will kill again. Would-be President George Bush has turned the Texas Department of Corrections into a murder machine. Al Gore has never been in a position to sign a death warrant, but he has made it clear that he would have no problem doing so.

It's Oscar season and Hollywood is lined up to honor the industry's “best.” Unfortunately, as in previous years, controversial movies like The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington, are left out of the Best Picture category.

Los Angeles, CA – Dozens of protesters gathered outside the CBS studios in west Los Angeles, July 24, to protest Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who was on set for an episode of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. A picket line marched at the studio’s entrances, accompanied by musicians. Demonstrators denounced Napolitano, the former governor of Arizona, for her support of the racist, anti-immigrant Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona.  The National Day Laborer Organizing Network organized the demonstration.

East Los Angeles, CA – December 11, 60 young people, activists and organizers, met at the kick-off conference against Proposition 21. The purpose was to plan the strategy and actions against the racist, anti-youth ballot initiative called the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act (Proposition 21). Californians will vote on the measure March 7.

Chicago, IL – Ricardo Jimenez was the first newly freed Independista to speak to the 300 strong rally, welcoming home the patriots who were jailed for fighting against the U.S. colonization of Puerto Rico. Jimenez told the cheering crowd “the struggle for independence continues!”