Johannesburg - The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has written an open letter to American Judge Lucretia Clemons, agitating for the release of journalist and political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Abu-Jamal was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1982 for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.
The month-long solidarity campaign, which is running from February 16 to March 16, has received widespread support across the globe and comes weeks before a court ruling in the US is set to determine if he will be granted a new trial after decades in custody.
Other solidarity groups calling for the release of Abu-Jamal, who has spent more than 40 years in prison, include the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10, with the groups having launched a stop-work action and shutdown of ports in the cities of San Francisco and Oakland in California.
Numsa says it believes that Abu-Jamal’s incarceration is unjustified and against human rights, adding that Abu-Jamal must be released with immediate effect.
“We firmly believe that the time has come that justice must prevail and Mumia Abu-Jamal must be set free. We humbly submit to you that you happen to be in a historical moment, and our clarion call to the US and its institutions of justice and the judiciary, which must further the aims of justice and humanity, is that we are of the view that, as an honourable judge, you must be on the right side of history, as this very history has afforded you the opportunity to correct this injustice of Mumia Abu-Jamal.
“We firmly believe it is about time to set him free, and he has served his sentence, and justice must prevail,” Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said.
Jim’s said the call for Abu-Jamal’s release stems from the long-held belief in human rights and equable and fair justice, which has not prevailed in Abu-Jamal’s case for over 40 years since his arrest.
“We are making this point out of our long-term belief that when it comes to any imprisonment of any human being, the following principles must apply, including:
“No one shall be imprisoned, deported, or restricted without a fair trial; no one shall be condemned by the order of any government official; the courts shall be representative of all the people; imprisonment shall be only for serious crimes against the people and shall aim at re-education, not vengeance,” Jim said.
Abu-Jamal was initiated into the Black Panther Party when he was still a 14-year-old teenager after being beaten by “white racists” and a policeman after he tried to disrupt a 1968 rally for Independent candidate George Wallace, the former governor of Alabama.
In the letter, Numsa says it stands in solidarity with many other black activists who have been unfairly treated by the American justice system.
“We are writing to you out of our honest and humble reflection and the firm belief we hold that without international solidarity, without the people of the world separated by rivers and forests standing in solidarity with the people of South Africa and our Struggle for freedom, we would not have been liberated,” Numsa said.
The Star