This Monday First & Only Conspiracy Trial Arising From Civil Disobedience

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The first and only federal
conspiracy trial
arising out of civil resistance
to the Iraq War begins
September 19 in Binghamton, NY.

Summary. Two days before the invasion of Iraq, four Catholic Workers from Ithaca (NY), in an act of non-violent civil resistance, entered a military recruiting center, read a statement, and carefully poured their own blood around the vestibule. The four, all parents, were tried in Tompkins County Court in April 2004 on charges of criminal mischief. Nine of twelve jurors voted to acquit.

However, almost a year later, the US government decided to retry the four, now on charges of conspiracy. If convicted, they face up to six years in prison and $250,000 in fines. The St. Patrick's Four trial begins September 19 in Binghamton, NY.

go to http://www.stpatricksfour.org/index.php for more important info!

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1. The Citizens Tribunal On Iraq

The Citizens' Tribunal on Iraq
Our voices will not be silenced.
September 18 - 23
Centenary - Chenango Street United Methodist Church
438 Chenango Street
Binghamton, NY

Opening Remarks and Moderation by James Petras, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at SUNY-Binghamton. He is the author and editor of over 60 books, including the acclaimed Globalization Unmasked: Imperialism in the 21st Century. His work has been translated into 26 languages. Petras was a member of the Bertrand Russell Tribunal Against Repression in Latin America.

Kathy Kelly helped initiate Voices in the Wilderness, a campaign to end the UN/US sanctions against Iraq. For bringing "medicine and toys" to Iraq in open violation of the UN/US sanctions, she and other campaign members were notified of a proposed $163,000 penalty for the organization, threatened with 12 years in prison, and eventually fined $20,000, a sum which they've refused to pay. Voices in the Wilderness organized 70 delegations to visit Iraq in the period between 1996 and the launch of "Shock and Awe." Kelly has been to Iraq twenty two times since January 1996, when the campaign began.



Medea Benjamin, a powerful and charismatic force in human rights activism, has struggled for social justice in Asia, Africa and the Americas for over 20 years. She is the Founding Director of the human rights organization Global Exchange. She is also the co-founder of Code Pink: Women for Peace, a women's group that has been organizing against the war in Iraq and pushing for a reorientation of budget priorities in the US to focus on heath care, education and housing, not war. In February 2003, Benjamin visited Iraq and met with weapon's inspectors, women's groups and ordinary Iraqi civilians.
 
More at:http://www.stpatricksfour.org/tribunal.php