[Ppnews] Freeman Family - Stop Extradition

[Political Prisoner News]

Dear Friends and Supporters,

The office of the Minister of Justice has requested a further 
extension to the end of October to make a decision on whether or not 
to extradite Gary. We trust that he is carefully examining our 
request to deny the extradition in a just and fair manner.

It concerns us that Gary, an African-American man who escaped the 
U.S. after facing racial persecution, should face return to Chicago 
at the hands of a police department recently implicated in torture by 
the infamous Burge report. The report by special Chicago prosecutors 
belatedly appointed to investigate charges of police torture in the 
Chicago South Side district confirmed Chicago police tortured and 
brutalized African-American men for more than 20 years.

Yet, despite the confirmation by internal investigations of horrific 
atrocities committed against African-American men, none of the police 
responsible for hundreds of acts of torture will face prosecution for 
using illegal techniques like electrical shocks to the genitals, ears 
and lips with a cattle prod or an electric shock box, Russian 
roulette, beatings with a rubber hose, suffocation and mock 
executions. Prosecutors claim these crimes against humanity cannot be 
prosecuted because the cases are too old and the statute of 
limitations has expired. There was only one firing, in 1993, with 
full pension benefits, and some of the police officers involved have 
even been promoted and are still with the same Chicago police department.

Yet, Chicago seeks the extradition of my husband, who is a victim of 
racial and political persecution for an incident which took place in 
this same South Side district of Chicago. He has always maintained 
his innocence.  He was a victim of police brutality and he came to 
Canada because he didn't want to die -- he came to Canada to survive.

To our knowledge, this police torture scandal hasn't been covered in 
the Canadian media. Why? This is a huge violation of the UN 
Convention against Torture on a par with U.S. torture violations at 
Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib -- and that is according to United 
Nations Committee against Torture. (Attached is a small sample of 
articles on the Burge Report)

The direct relationship between the aforementioned and Gary's 
situation is that Gary too was a victim of Chicago police brutality 
in 1969 on the streets of Chicago.

Our suffering as a family torn apart will not be over until Gary is 
returned to us.

We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported us. 
Please continue with your support by writing to our Minister of 
Justice, the Honourable Vic Toews. Please remind him that it is a 
core Canadian value to protect the sanctity of the family and that he 
allow the principles of justice and humanitarian compassion to be his 
guiding light and deny this unjust extradition request.

Recently, numerous Members of Parliament who have reviewed the 
background of Gary's case have written letters of concern to Minister 
Toews. Please visit our website www.freemandrum.org to read their 
letters of support.

A heartfelt thank you,
Natercia and the Coelho-Freeman family

Please write this week to:

The Honourable Vic Toews, P.C., B.A., LL.B.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
284 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0H8

The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
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