The San Francisco 8 need our help!
Let's do our part in freeing them!

Everyone is out on bail except for political prisoners Jalil Muntaqim and Herman Bell, two of the NY3. The third member, Albert Nuh Washington, died in prison.

September 8, 2008 Court Update

All of the SF8 brothers were in court today. A sizeable crowd of supporters was on hand despite the brief nature of the hearing.

Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim were once again in handcuffs and waist chains. Their attorneys objected to this "technicality" because the previous agreement with the SF County Sheriff was that they would not be shackled in court for motions or preliminary exams. Today's hearing was brief and only intended to set another court date. It is anticipated that the shackling issue will get resolved before the next hearing. All of the defendants and their attorneys met together as a group for the first time in many weeks.

It was re-stated in court that the prosecutors have no objection to Herman and Jalil being transferred to New York State for their parole hearings. California attorneys will be working with lawyers in New York to try to expedite the signing of the amended Executive Agreements which remain in the governors' offices of both states.

Herman and Jalil have a liberty interest in returning to New York. If these brothers were granted parole, then it is likely that they would also be granted bail in the SF8 case. All other brothers in the SF8 case are out on bail despite the severity of the charges. The delaying tactics to prevent Herman and Jalil from returning to New York to attend their parole hearings infringes upon the brothers' right to liberty.

If parole hearings await the resolution of the SF8 charges, it could be another year or two before Herman and Jalil are given hearings.

Please contact the Governors of New York and California by phone, letter or email:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger State Capitol Building Sacramento, CA 95814 Phone: 916-445-2841 Fax: 916-558-3160 Email: http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email

Governor David A. Paterson State Capitol Albany, NY 12224 518-474-8390 Email: http://161.11.121.121/govemail

Urge them to sign the amended Executive Agreements which will allow Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom) to return to New York State to attend their rightful parole hearings.

The next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, November 4th and is expected to clarify a schedule for the preliminary hearing.

Committee for the Defense of Human Rights
P.O. Box 90221 Pasadena, CA 91109 (415) 226-1120
E-mail: freethesf8 [at] riseup [dot] net

To read more on this case, click here!

Write to the San Francisco 8!

To write to the two who are now being held in the San Francisco County Jail, address letters with each man's name and number and this address: 850 Bryant St., San Francisco CA 94103. Their names and numbers follow:

Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom), 2311826;
Herman Bell 2318931