Tag Archives: siddique abdullah hasan

Ohio Muslim Prisoner Threatened With Punishment For NPR Interview On Prison Strike

From Shadowproof

Ohio prisoner Imam Siddique Abdullah Hasan says he was recently threatened with disciplinary action by an investigator at the Ohio State Penitentiary for speaking on the National Public Radio program, “On Point,” about the September 9 national prison strike.

Hasan, who is a Muslim spiritual leader on death row for his alleged role in the 1993 Lucasville Uprising, said he was informed he would be written up for unauthorized use of the phone and could have his phone and email privileges restricted, despite an understanding with prison officials that he could use his phone and email time to communicate with media as he has done for the past decade.

On Monday, Hasan told Shadowproof he was not sure when the disciplinary actions would come down, but he and his supporters expect it to be imminent. If it happens, it will be the second time he’s faced retaliation for supporting the strike in as many months.

“I’m getting kind of mentally exhausted. How am I going to deal with this nonsense?” Hasan said. “I’m not going to throw in the towel. I just remain in the trenches.” Continue reading →

A Prison Strike Organizer Suffers Retaliation for Speaking With Journalists

From The Intercept

A prisoner at Ohio State Penitentiary says he is facing disciplinary action for participating in an NPR interview about the nationwide prison strike that started on September 9. 

Nearly a month after inmates embarked on the largest prison strike in the country’s history, the media and the public continue to know little about where and how the action played out, and even less about officials’ retaliation against striking prisoners.

As The Intercept has reported, that’s no coincidence. Prison officials regularly go to great lengths to control the information leaving their institutions, and this strike has proven no exception, despite gradually developing media interest in the protest.

Undeterred by challenges, prison activists have succeeded in releasing sporadic updates on the strike as it spread across the country, and some of them have even used a combination of contraband cellphones and their regularly allotted phone time to speak with media organizations.

But those calls come at a cost.

In an incident suggesting just how difficult and risky it can be for prisoners to communicate with the outside, and with journalists in particular, Siddique Hasan, a prison activist sentenced to death for his role in a 1993 prison uprising, said he was “written up” by a prison investigator for his participation in a September 28 episode of the NPR show “On Point with Tom Ashbrook.” Continue reading →

Is a Prison Strike Leader Being Falsely Accused of Inciting Terrorism?

From AlterNet

Siddique Abdullah Hasan is a key organizer for an upcoming labor strike in prisons across the country.

Activist and advocates are concerned that a politically active Muslim prisoner, Siddique Abdullah Hasan, has been falsely accused of inciting terrorism at Ohio State Penitentiary, where he is incarcerated. About half a dozen Muslim prisoners at the facility are on hunger strike, demanding that the disciplinary charges be dropped and Hasan cleared of all wrongdoing, according to activists working outside the prison.

Hasan is a key organizer for the upcoming September 9 labor strike and work stoppage, which is poised to take place in prisons across the country. Outside activists told AlterNet they suspect the allegations were intended to delegitimize the events of September 9 and sow fear about people organizing from the inside

“When you start to get actions in favor of the confined citizen, it might empower more confined citizens to speak up,” explained Tahiyrah Ali, a spokesperson with the Free Ohio Movement, one of the groups organizing around the upcoming work stoppage. Continue reading →

Detailed Update from Imam Siddique Abdullah Hasan and Other Hunger Strikers.

From Lucasville Amnesty

They have given me thirty (30) days restrictions. It was a deliberate plan to cut off my direct communications with the outside world prior to the national event/action, notwithstanding their own policy only permits them to suspend my privileges for a period of up to two hundred eighty-eight hours (See paragraph (C) of rule 5120:1-10-12 of the Administrative Code or disciplinary isolation.) This restriction policy became effective 2/16/2016.
I agree that prison officials are “so used to being invisible and hiding its corruption and abuses from the public”; however, we must reveal what happened in my recent situation. Thus continue to work with the media and attorneys to expose the problems in my case. (I plan on filing my appeal to the Warden on Monday.)
There are three of us–Keith Dewitt Jr., David Martin and myself–still on hunger strike. We are all Muslims and are dissatisfied with the contract Imam’s work performance, treatment of Muslims, and using his position to remove Muslims from their services merely because they disagree with some of his teachings. The others that were on the hunger strike were showing their solidarity about me being wrongfully put in the hole. They were demanding that I be released from isolation. When that materialized, they ended their strike.
Hereunder are some of the problems in my case: Continue reading →

Hasan Update: Retaliation Against Prisoner Leader Inspires Hunger Strike

hasan prayerFrom LucasvilleAmnesty.org

Youngstown, OH- On Thursday August 18, 2016 the Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP) Rules Infraction Board (RIB) restricted Imam Siddique Hasan, of the Free Ohio Movement, from phone and email kiosk access. In response, Hasan and other Muslim prisoners have begun a hunger strike.

The RIB found Hasan guilty of violating Rule 59 of the OAC (Ohio Administrative Code) Section 5120-9-06 Inmate Rules of Conduct, which reads, (59) Any act not otherwise set forth herein, knowingly done which constitutes a threat to the security of the institution, its staff, other inmates, or to the acting inmate. (http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/5120-9-06 )

According to the RIB conduct report, S. Ishmael, a freelance Imam who leads prayers and religious study classes at OSP and nearby Trumbul Correctional, accused Siddique Hasan of making threats against the institution. On August 1, 2016, Ishmael told OSP staff that Hasan had asked him to wear a suicide vest in to the institution. This conversation was supposed to have taken place during religious study on July 22. Hasan and other Muslims attending the class deny Imam Ishmael’s allegation.

“The staff Imam’s story is an absurd and offensive stereotype.” OSP prisoner David Martin told supporters over the phone. “If Hasan was supposed to have made this threat on July 22, why did it take nine days before the man told staff about it? What was he doing for those nine days?”

Continue reading →

Block Report Radio with Greg Curry

From BlockReportRadio.com

Lucasville Rebellion Survivor Greg Curry speaks on the September 9th National Prison Strike, his comrade Saddique Hasan being placed in the hole by the prison to disrupt his part in organizing the national prison strike, and the personal plight of Greg Curry. Tune in for more at BlockReportRadio.com. Free’Em All!

Update on Siddique Abdullah Hasan

[To see the initial post on Hasan’s punitive treatment, see here.]

Around noon eastern time, Hasan got word out through lawyers that he was doing fine and that if anyone wanted to correspond with him they should include a stamp for the reply since he could not go to the [jpay] kiosk.

Hasan has access to postal mail, so you can send him letters, and it sounds like also to JPay, but not the kiosk machine, so if you write him an email (and visit JPay.com to find out how if you don’t already) be sure to click the “include a stamp for reply” box before sending.

Please also continue to call the prison 330-743-0700. They are routing all the calls to a specific person, so lets keep her busy. Ask when he’s going to be let out of the hole and demand that this bogus investigation end immediately.

Also, write to Hasan, the more mail he gets the more support we’re demonstrating. You can include a total of 5 sheets of paper and 3 embossed (postage pre-printed) envelopes, so if you have any handy, slip them in to make sure he’s got supplies to write people back.

His address is

Siddique Abdullah Hasan

R130-559

OSP

878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd

Youngstown OH 44505

ALERT! Call in to defend Hasan now!

hasan deskSiddique Abdullah Hasan, of the Free Ohio Movement has been transferred to the hole and denied access to communication and property.

Please call OSP immediately and daily 330-743-0700 until they release him.

Ask to speak to the warden and demand that Hasan be allowed back into his regular cell and regain access to his property. The person they connect you to may pretend they only know Hasan by the name Carlos Sanders, even though his name was legally changed to Siddique Abdullah Hasan decades ago. His prison number is R130-559.

Hasan is one of the few public spokespeople for the national protest that will start on September 9 of this year. Last week he was visited by law enforcement who inaccurately described Sep 9 as a plot to harm people and blow up buildings.

It is important that we stand up to repression and terror-baiting as soon as it rears it’s head. Please call the prison and share this alert as widely as possible.

Thank you.

Visit from Law Enforcement

On August 2nd, an officer named Mark Royko with The Ohio State Highway Patrol went to Ohio State Penitentiary, had Siddique Abdullah Hasan pulled out of his cell and tried to question him about Sep 9. See Hasan’s summary of the conversation below.

This officer used some pretty ridiculous terror-baiting language, so we are going to use this opportunity to remind everyone about some basic principles of security culture and anti-repression.

1. Do not talk to law enforcement. In the example below, Hasan was more open than we would advise anyone to be. As soon as you know the person you are talking to is a cop or a fed, walk away slowly. If they stop you, ask if you’re being detained. If they say yes, ask if you’re under arrest. In these states you’re obligated to by to give your name and show ID. In other states, if you’re driving a car or carrying a gun under an open or conceal carry permit, you’ll also need to show your ID. If you refuse to show your ID the cops, they might make up some “reasonable suspicion” pretext to arrest you, and the trouble of getting arrested and then getting it thrown out in court is maybe not worth it.

States (colored red) in which Stop and Identify statutes are in effect as of February 20th, 2013.

The cops can and do violate people’s rights all the damn time, and if you don’t want them to escalate and get violent with you, you might have to let them, just make sure you’re vocally asserting your rights (ideally before witnesses with cameras) while they trample them.
If they ask to search you say “no” out loud but do not physically resist if they search you anyway. Say “i do not consent to this search” out loud. If they arrest you, do not talk. Remain silent and assert your right to a lawyer. Follow basic ACLU know your rights protocol.

2. Tell people. Once the police have left, write down notes describing the encounter as soon as possible. If you can, get names and badge numbers of the officers. Tell anyone you’re organizing with. Email us at PrisonerResistance@gmail.com. Call IWOC Kansas City at 816-866-3808 or email iwoc@riseup.net. The more people know about law enforcement snooping around, the more safe we all are.

3. Practice good security culture. Cops don’t need to tell you they are cops. They can go undercover and infiltrate your group. This is not reason to get paranoid or stop organizing, but it is Continue reading →