Free Mumia Abu-Jamal! Free all political prisoners!
- Details
- Created: Saturday, 30 March 2024 13:00
- Written by FRFI
Revolutionary activist and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal will turn 70 on 24 April 2024. This will be his 42nd birthday behind bars. Mumia was framed for a crime he did not commit and convicted following a trial steeped in racism and judicial misconduct. The call to free Mumia is more urgent than ever, with his health rapidly declining.
Despite being taken off death row in 2012 as a result of decades of international pressure from campaigners, Mumia still faces a life sentence which he refers to as a ‘slow death row’. His life remains in the balance with seriously deteriorating chronic health issues and inadequate health care provisions. The state aims to see him die behind bars.
Recent pressure on the authorities has seen the immediate serious risk to his health condition somewhat stabilised. However, this respite may only be temporary and as campaigners say ‘the only treatment is freedom’. Following double bypass surgery in 2021 Mumia was prescribed a cardiac diet and regular exercise for recovery. To date the prison has failed to provide this care.
Mumia was named ‘the voice of the voiceless’ and even now his struggle is not for him alone. Other prisoners are also subject to the same poor care, and Mumia and his team of supporters always advocate for all political prisoners and for the prison population as a whole. Mumia’s long-time critiques of the Zionist occupation of Palestine serve as a reminder of his powerful voice and how he uses every opportunity available to him to expose imperialism across the globe.
‘For there has been a war between Palestine and Israel for, at the very least, 75 years, and at most, a century. And this is not a war around religion or between faiths or gods. It’s a war for that which is no longer being produced — land.’ (Mumia Abu Jamal)
The international solidarity movement, which remains steadfast in its efforts to free Mumia, has organised events to celebrate his 70th birthday and demand his freedom. On 23 March the Free Mumia UK campaign teamed up with North London Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! to hold a speak-out in Dalston, north London in solidarity with Mumia. Alongside FRFI and the Mumia campaign, speakers at the rally included London for Sudan and the Anti-Imperialist Front. Solidarity statements were read out from Collectif Palestine Vaincra and Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
On Saturday 4 May the Free Mumia UK campaign will be holding a public meeting at the CLR James Library in Hackney. The event, which is part of If Mi Nuh Laugh, Mi Cry: Hackney Art Activism Festival, promises a line-up of international speakers and a chance to see Vampire Nation, a haunting piece about racial power imbalances in the United States, written and composed by Mumia.
For more information and campaign updates email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or follow @shelbyxstudios on Instagram
Grace Kress
