Kathy Kelly, Founder of Voices in the Wilderness, Imprisoned

international | anti-war / imperialism | press release

Thursday April 01, 2004 22:39

by Ciaron - Dublin Catholic Worker

She's in Prison for Us, we're on the Loose for Her!

Kathy Kelly spent the first Gulf War on the border of Kuwait and Iraq and the following six months in bombed out Iraq. On returning to the US she founded the sanctions busting Voices in the Wilderness. She spent the the 2003 US bombing campaign as a nonviolent witness in Iraq. She has come to Ireland on a number of occasions to speak at Afri events & support the Pit Stop Ploughshares.community. Her arrests for which she is doing time were at the School of the Americas and the ELF tower.

Dear Friends of Voices,

On March 29, 2004, a Magistrate in Madison, WI decided to tag an extra month
onto the sentences already imposed on Kathy Kelly and (Rev.) Jerry Zawada, OFM,
which means that both of them are due to "self-report" to federal prisons on
April 6. Kathy and Jerry were tried along with six others who crossed a line
onto two feet of government grass at Project ELF, in northern Wisconsin, on
Mother's Day in May, 2003.

The ELF site houses an Extremely Low Frequency tower used by the US military to
command the launch of nuclear missiles from Trident submarines. It's primary
use would be in the event of a first-strike US nuclear weapon attack. However,
during the recent Shock and Awe warfare against Iraq, the ELF site was used to
"fast-track" launches of Tomahawk Cruise missiles that bombed Iraq. Jerry and
Kathy explained to the judge that because they were in Iraq during the massive
bombing that began on March 20, 2003, they felt a particular responsibility to
help close the Project ELF because they'd seen the lethal and brutal civilian
suffering that Tomahawk Cruise missiles caused when civilian homes, shopping
centers and roadways were bombed.

Kathy will be imprisoned at Pekin, IL FCI, (Federal Correctional Institute). Her
outdate is August 6, 2004,-- Hiroshima Day and the anniversary of the day when
sanctions were first imposed on Iraq in 1990. Jerry, who faces a seven month
sentence, will be imprisoned at Oxford, WI FCI; his outdate is November 6, 2004.
Both Kathy and Jerry had been previously sentenced to prison time (three months
and six months, respectively) for crossing the line at the School of the
Americas /WHISC on November 22, 2003. They won't be able to receive mail until
the Bureau of Prisons assigns them prison numbers. At that point, we'll
circulate information about how to write to them along with regulations about
what they can receive in prison (not much) and visiting rights. Till then,
Kathy and Jerry encourage supporters to:

i—-call the Capitol Switchboard and ask elected representatives to close the
SOA/WHISC The number is: 202-224-3121

ii--visit http://www.soaw.org to learn more about the School of the Americas
visit http://www.nukewatch.com to learn more about Project ELF

iii-visit http://vitw.org/archives/000042.html to read Kathy's reflection about
going to prison, entitled "Crossing Lines."

iv—-contact local prisoner support groups to learn about prisoners in your area
who would like visitors and/or correspondence

v---visit http://www.petitiononline.com/know0001/petition.html to sign an
online petition to free Ardeth Platte, Carol Gilbert and Jackie Hudson, three
Roman Catholic sisters imprisoned for two – 3 1/2 years for symbolic acts of
disarmament at a nuclear missile silo site in rural Colorado. Read more about
them at http://vitw.org/archives/000033.html

vi—-visit the website of the Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu,
http://www.nonviolence.org/vanunu the Israeli nuclear whistleblower first
imprisoned in 1986 whom we hope will be released on April 21, 2004. Be sure to
sign the online petition!

vii-visit http://www.freelori.org to learn more about the Committee to Free Lori
Berenson who has been sentenced to twenty years in a Peruvian prison on charges
of treason. Recently, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights claimed that
the trial completely violated her rights. She has already been imprisoned for
eight years. The "Frequently Asked Questions" section of the website listed
above presents a history of her case.

Our involvement with Jerry's and Kathy's companions who crossed the lines, in
the past year, at Project ELF and at Fort Benning has put us in touch with
extraordinarily fine people, too numerous to mention in this e-mail.
Biographies of each of the other SOA defendants are listed on the
http://www.soaw.org website. Please visit http://www.nukewatch.com to read
about others who've been involved in court cases and incarceration for their
nonviolent protest at Project ELF.

Kathy can be reached in Chicago, before departure on April 6, at 773-784-8065
kathy@vitw.org Jerry is in Burlington, WI, 262-763-3600
jerryzawada@peoplepc.com

We remain very grateful for the many letters and calls sent to us as we persist,
with you, in the further invention of nonviolence.

Sincerely,

John Farrell, Laurie Hasbrook, Danny Muller, Scott Blackburn, Tim Marshall,
Kathy Kelly, Stephanie Knol, Angela Garcia and Suj Shyam for the Voices in the
Wilderness Chicago office

###############################
Wheels of Justice Update

Since July 2003 the Wheels of Justice Tour brought eyewitnesses to war and
occupation in Iraq and Palestine to communities across America. In our
17,000-mile journey, we have so far visited 18 states bringing first-hand
realities of war and occupation to those who would otherwise have no access to
this type of information. The fully decorated and remodeled bus brings speakers
and resources lifting the fog of misinformation and empowering hundreds to act.
It makes a positive spectacle and brings the message of human rights and
self-determination. Literally hundreds of media stories have already been
written about it.

But, the old engine finally gave-up. Options to replace The 1976 vintage bus are
underway. Please donate generously towards this so that we can get back on the
road and continue this incredibly successful project. Please visit
http://justicewheels.org for more information on where you can make a donation.

Also, read Ceylon Mooney's MY 5 DAYS AWAY FROM THE OFFICE, an update and a
recounting of being on tour at http://justicewheels.org/archives/000072.html
###############################

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4 Anti-war Activists Sentenced fro ELF Resistance

by Nukewatch

Tue Apr 06, 2004 02:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Nukewatch

Four Anti-War Activists Sentenced to 30 Days Federal Incarceration for Nonpayment

MADISON, Wisc. -– Four anti-nuclear weapons activists who refused to pay court-ordered fines for trespassing convictions at the Navy’s ELF submarine transmitter were sentenced to 30-days federal incarceration Monday March 29 by U.S. Magistrate Stephen L. Crocker.

The four were part of a group of eight who went before Magistrate Crocker for failure to pay $150.00 fines imposed for one of three separate demonstrations at the controversial transmitter system. The ELF antenna sends secret one-way messages to submerged U.S. and British submarines around the world.

One protester, Greg Boertje, of the Loaves and Fishes Community in Duluth, Minn., a homeless shelter, was taken directly into custody to serve the 30 days. While Magistrate Crocker suggested Boertje surrender himself at a later date, Boertje told Crocker that he could not in good conscience cooperate with the probation department’s system of self-commitment.

Three of those sentenced to 30-days had the term added, consecutively, to previously imposed federal prison sentences. Kathy Kelly, twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and co-founder of the Chicago-based Voices in the Wilderness, had earlier been ordered to serve 90 days for a trespass action at the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) in Georgia. The Army school has been accused of teaching assassination and torture to Central American troops who went on to commit human rights atrocities there.

Rev. Jerry Zawada, a Catholic priest from Burlington, Wisc. had Monday’s 30-day sentence added to a six-month term imposed for the same demonstration against the SOA. Both Rev. Zawada and Kathy Kelly are to turn themselves in April 6, Zawada to the Federal Prison Camp at Oxford, Wisc., and Kelly to the Women’s FPC in Pekin, Illinois.

Additionally, Anthony O’Leary, of Duluth, Minn., had the newly imposed 30-day sentence added to a 90-day sentence he was given for the SOA protest. He is to self-commit for the total 120-days at the FPC in Duluth, April 6.

The high-powered Extremely Low Frequency submarine transmitter is located in the Chequamegon National Forest near Clam Lake, WI and has been the object of scores of protests. More than 45 people have been jailed for refusing to pay trespass fines since 1991 and five disarmament/Plowshares actions over the years have temporarily shut down the system.

Three others re-sentenced today agreed to pay the $150.00 fine rather than be incarcerated. They were Scott Mathern-Jacobson of Loaves & Fishes and Mark Engebretson, also of Duluth, Minn., and Gail Vaughn of Ferryville, Wisc.

An eighth activist who was to be resentenced, Michael Walli of Duluth, is currently serving a 3-month sentence for the SOA protest and did not appear.

An annual Spring gathering and nonviolent action is scheduled for the ELF site this May 15 and 16.

Letters of support to the four (below) should include their federal Bureau of Prisons number.

-- John LaForge for Nukewatch

Greg Boertje

Dane County Jail

115 West Doty St.

Madison, WI 53703

Anthony O’Leary, #92123-020
FPC Duluth

6902 Airport Road

Hermantown, MN 55811

Kathy Kelly, #92099-020
FPC Pekin
PO Box 7000
Pekin IL 61555-7000

Rev. Jerry Zawada, #04995-045
FCI Oxford

PO Box 1000

Oxford, WI 53952

Nukewatch
P.O. Box 649
Luck, Wisc. 54853
Phone: 715-472-4185
Fax: 715-472-4184
www.nukewatch.com

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Kathy Kelly, Founder of Voices in the Wilderness, Imprisoned

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