Torture in Miami's FTAA

Colored activistis separated and tortured by police.

Subject: [imc-la]horror story from ftaa
Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2003 10:02:47 -0800

Subject: Activists of Color Tortured in Miami Jails

Apparently some APOC are drafting up a press release about
police
oppression on
the APOC bloc- lookin out for that...

Prateek
----------------------------
Activists of Color Tortured in Miami Jails
Chicago IMC , 11.22.2003 14:38
Two male activists of color were separated from others in
police
custody and tortured. Among those arrested at the support
demonstration
that occurred outside the Miami Dade Detention Center
yesterday,
November 21, were two male activists of color, one African
American and
one of Mexican descent. In jail, many activists and both
men of color
were participating in jail solidarity, not giving their
names, dates of
birth or other
information to the police.

These men were separated from the other demonstrators who
were arrested
yesterday and taken to a different detention facility.
Here, they were
put in metal cages resembling dog kennels. They were denied
use of a
bathroom and were forced to expel their bodily wastes into
the small
cages. While in the cages, pepper spray and high-powered
water hoses
with freezing water were used on the men. The pepper spray
was used
inches from the men?s eyes. The men were not treated for
exposure to
chemical weapons.
While in police custody both men were beaten with
nightsticks. The
African American male is believed to have been beaten for
over two
hours. It is possible that this beating resulted in brain
injuries in
one of the men.

The man of Mexican descent was brought back to the Miami
Dade Detention
Center and put in a cell with the other activists who are
being held
there. The other activists were told that the men who had
been beaten
and pepper sprayed would not receive medical treatment if
jail
solidarity tactics were continued. Two members of Anarchist
People of
Color (APOC) and one lawyer went to visit the man of
Mexican descent in
the detention center. As they were leaving the detention
center and
walking back to their cars, the police apprehended one of
the APOC
members.

A member of Chicago Action Medical reports that it is
believed that the
African American activist has been released from police
custody, his
whereabouts are not known at this time.