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A CALL FOR PUBLIC DEMONSTRATIONS FROM OCT 12-OCT 13TH
“THIS IS WHAT A PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION LOOKS LIKE:
YOU MESS WITH ONE, YOU MESS WITH US ALL!”
October 8, 2010 – Toronto, Mississauga New Credit – G20 defendant Alex Hundert was found today to be in breach of his ‘no-demonstration’ bail condition for speaking as an invited panelist at two university events in mid-September 2010. He has remained behind bars since his arrest.
The Justice of the Peace at the Scarborough Courthouse made the ridiculously ludicrous s.524 finding that Alex could, on a balance of probabilities, be reasonably believed to have been in contravention of his condition because he was supposedly engaging in the same kind of “behaviour that he exhibited in meetings leading up to the G20.” The JP did not even make a clear ruling on whether a public panel actually constitutes a public demonstration. The JP simply implied in his decision that the public panel was similar to an organizing meeting, which he infers to constitute a demonstration.
On that basis, the Crown is now seeking to revoke Alex’s bail entirely and keep him behind bars. His counsel is arguing for his release, and the JP will make a decision on his release on Tuesday October 12, 2010 in the Scarborough Courthouse, 1911 Eglinton East.
“THIS IS WHAT A PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION LOOKS LIKE!”
In outrage, we are calling for demonstrations to take place across this land from Tuesday October 12th (preferably) to Wednesday October 13th to defend our social movements and stand up for our friends and allies currently being targeted by never-ending state repression.
Possible locations for public demonstrations include your local police station, courthouse, crown offices, or take the streets in any visible downtown location. No mobilization is too small.
Targeting community organizers is intended to weaken our growing and thriving social and environmental justice movement, to isolate effective and vocal community activists, and to criminalize dissent against the violent policies of the G20 that perpetuate environmental degradation, militarization, labour exploitation, and theft of Indigenous lands that wreaks misery for the world’s majority. While the panic surrounding the G20 protests has pushed forward the criminalization of resistance, we also continue to witness the intensification of repressive state practices and criminalization against immigrants and refugees, Indigenous people, queer and trans folks, and communities living in poverty.
Declaring a public panel as a public demonstration is therefore a dangerous precedent and an attack on all of us. Unless we challenge this ruling forcefully, it will be used against organizers all across our movement and all communities in struggle.
We cannot be silenced or intimidated, our resistance will only increase as we keep organizing for liberation for all people, especially those who daily bear the brunt of police, state, and corporate oppression. They cannot jail our hearts.
If you are planning anything please email Harsha and Jonah at hwalia8@gmail.com and jonah.hundert@gmail.com so we can compile a list of all planned actions by Sunday October 10th evening.
Also letters to Alex in jail can be sent to:
Alex Hundert
c/o Toronto East Corrections
55 Civic Road, Scarborough Ontario M1L 4J7
(It is best to include letters without attachments and clippings, which can arbitrarily be held. Also remember letters are often read by guards first. If you are writing, please write soon given the length of time it sometimes takes to receive mail inside)
BACKGROUND
Hundert is currently facing politically-motivated conspiracy and counselling charges in relation to the Toronto G8/G20 protests. He was arrested pre-emptively at gunpoint in a violent house raid on the morning of June 26th, before the protests began, and is being targeted as a member of the community group AW@L and Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance. Several other G20 defendants remain behind bars, including Indigenous sovereignty activist Ryan Rainville of the Sackimay Nation, while others are punished by the criminal injustice system for being poor and unable to afford exorbitant bail. Some face the possibility of deportation as a means of stifling their dissent.
For the press release from today, please read http://g20.torontomobilize.org/node/549 and for further background information on Alex’s arrest and the numerous attempts by the police and Crown to throw him back in jail, read this press release: http://g20.torontomobilize.org/node/504
For ongoing G20 defence and fundraising visit: http://g20.torontomobilize.org
For more information or questions, contact hwalia8@gmail.com or
jonah.hundert@gmail.com or AW@L through antiwar@peaceculture.org.