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Oscar López by JOSÉ ENRIQUE
AYOROA SANTALIZ Attorney Friday May 20, 2011 /
EL NUEVO DÍA
The whole Puerto Rican people, the political right, the center
and the left, are prisoners in the same cell with our compatriot from San Sebastián Oscar López Rivera, for more than one
reason.
In the first place, because we are all dissatisfied with the
current political situation, and all of us, in our way, like Oscar, want to change it. In the second place, because,
representatively speaking, the entire Puerto Rican society believes, and has thus expressed, that serving thirty years in
prison, one of the longest sentences in the history of humanity, is enough punishment.
That intending that “he has to wait fifteen years more
to once again apply for release, or in the alternative, serve the rest of his seventy year sentence,” is an abuse, a
cruel and intolerable punishment, when it comes to a human being who is already 68 years old. His immediate release
has been sought by the entire spectrum of Puerto Rican society, including members of Congress Nydia Velázquez, José Serrano,
Luis Gutiérrez and the resident commissioner in Washington, Pedro Pierluisi.
What is left as a sensible step for us to take? That we all,
in one voice, resort to the president of the United States, Barack Obama, and ask him to pardon our compatriot Oscar López
Rivera. As president, he has to power to do so. Oscar’s case is so meritorious at the moment that if Obama were
shown its details in a truthful film that showed the general framework of this political prisoner, he surely wouldn’t
be able to believe it.
Fortunately, Oscar is a man of character and discernment,
in the manner of Nelson Mandela. All of us compassionate Puerto Ricans are in a way prisoners of our own consciousness
in the face of this inhumane situation. Let’s not be accomplices with our silence in the face of this excessive
abuse.
May 10, 2011
Today, on the eve of the 30th anniversary
of the arrest of Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López
Rivera, the U.S. Parole Commission issued a decision denying
his petition to reconsider the February 18
ruling denying parole. The Commission justified its decision by assigning him
responsibility for conduct
he was never accused or convicted of.
The decision, erroneously asserting that his release
would promote disrespect for the law, ignores the
express will of the Puerto Rican people and those who believe in justice
and human rights, counting tens
of thousands of voices across the political spectrum supporting his immediate release.
The Commission
ignored the evidence establishing that Oscar met all the criteria for parole, and also ignored its own
rules
in the process.
Among these many ignored voices are members of legislatures including the United States Congress; the
state
legislatures of New York, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania; the city councils and county boards of
many locales in the U.S.
and Puerto Rico; the mayors of many towns in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including
the Association of Mayors of Puerto Rico;
bar associations including the Puerto Rico Bar Association,
the National Lawyers Guild and the American Association of
Jurists; clergy and religious organizations,
including the Ecumenical Coalition representing every religious denomination
in Puerto Rico; the National
Latino Congreso, human rights advocates, academics, students, artists, community organizations,
and
workers.
The Commission did not ignore President Clinton’s determination in 1999 that Oscar’s sentence
was
disproportionately lengthy and that Oscar should be released in September of 2009. Instead, it held “the
Commission
is not required to share that assessment.” However, the Commission did ignore that Oscar’s
co-defendants released
as a result of the 1999 Clinton clemency are productive, law-abiding citizens,
fully integrated into civil society. The
Commission also ignored its own July 2010 order to release Oscar’s
last remaining imprisoned co-defendant Carlos
Alberto Torres.
The White House has recently proposed to initiate a process of to resolve the status of Puerto Rico.
A
true process of self-determination under international law would be accompanied by the release of political
prisoners.
The Commission’s adverse decision is at odds with such an undertaking.
The United States government consistently
demands that other governments, in order to establish their
democratic credentials, release political prisoners in their
custody. The Commission’s adverse decision
today demonstrates conduct inconsistent with what the U.S. demands of
other governments.
Oscar, his family, his attorney, National Boricua Human Rights Network in the U.S. and the Comité
Pro
Derechos Humanos in Puerto Rico want to express our deepest gratitude for the vast support for his
release. We will
count on ongoing support as we continue to press for Oscar’s release.
National Boricua Human Rights
Network
MARCH UPDATE/CALL TO ACTION!
People
of conscience throughout the world were outraged by news that the U.S. Parole Commission refused to parole Puerto Rican political
prisoner Oscar López Rivera after close to 30 years in prison for his support of Puerto Rican independence. Thousands of people,
including members of U.S. Congress, religious leaders, artists, scholars, and community members support his immediate release.
The
Parole Commission’s inhumane decision, issued on February 18, ignored both the specifics of Oscar’s case and the
broad-based international humanitarian support for his immediate release. The Commission, basing its unjust decision on falsehoods
and inaccuracies, ruled that Oscar must remain in prison another 15 years or until the duration of his sentence, whichever
comes first.
Though
this represents a significant setback, the National Boricua Human Rights Network (NBHRN) has no doubt the campaign for Oscar’s
freedom will be victorious. The Puerto Rican people and their allies have succeeded in winning the release of three generations
of political prisoners, an unparalleled accomplishment. This campaign will be no different.
After
consulting with Oscar and the campaign for his release, his attorney will ask the Parole Commission to reconsider its wrongheaded
ruling. Activists and leaders from the U.S., Puerto Rico and abroad have started to aggressively plan and launch the next
phase of the campaign.
There are many ways to contribute to this campaign:
You can sign the ProLibertad Freedom Campaign's NEW online parole petition
based on the NBHRN letter: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/olrnewparole/
ProLibertad will be mailing out a hard copy of the petition to Chairman Fulwood every
time we reach a multiple of 100.
UPDATE ON CAMPAIGN
Friday February 18th, 2011
Today
the U.S. Parole Commission issued its decision in the case of Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera, stating
“Deny parole. Continue to a 15-year reconsideration hearing in January 2026 or continue to expiration, whichever comes
first.”
In a decision which ignored the express will of the Puerto Rican people and those who believe in justice
and human rights, counting tens of thousands of voices supporting his immediate release, the Commission ignored the evidence
establishing that Oscar met all the criteria for parole, and also ignored its own rules in the process. Among these many ignored
voices are members of legislatures including the United States Congress; the state legislatures of New York, Illinois, Ohio
and Pennsylvania; the city councils and county boards of many locales in the U.S. and Puerto Rico; the mayors of many towns
in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including the Association of Mayors of Puerto Rico; bar associations including the Puerto Rico
Bar Association, the National Lawyers Guild and the American Association of Jurists; clergy and religious organizations, including
the Ecumenical Coalition representing every religious denomination in Puerto Rico; human rights advocates, academics, students,
artists, community organizations, and workers.
Oscar, his family, his attorney, National Boricua Human Rights Network
in the U.S. and the Comité Pro Derechos Humanos in Puerto Rico want to express our deepest gratitude for the vast support
for his release.
Oscar and his attorney Jan Susler will meet next week to discuss the decision. Meanwhile, the National
Boricua Human Rights Network in the U.S. and the Comité Pro Derechos Humanos in Puerto Rico will continue the campaign to
express to the Parole Commission the depth and breadth of support for Oscar’s immediate release.
NBHRN report on Puerto Rican political
prisoner Oscar López Rivera’s parole hearing
What happened today
On Wednesday, January 5, after a remarkably biased and tainted parole
hearing, U.S. Parole Commission hearing examiner Mark Tanner announced he would recommend that Puerto Rican political
prisoner Oscar López Rivera be denied parole, and that he either be held in prison until his mandatory release date in
2023 or serve another 15 years before being reconsidered for parole, whichever comes first.
Oscar was brought to the hearing handcuffed to a chain around his
waist. His attorney Jan Susler’s protestations were overruled, with prison staff asserting the warden had ordered the
highly unusual measure. EightBureau of Prisons personnel constituted an exaggerated and intentionally intimidating presence.
Over the vehement objection of Oscar’s attorney, Tanner entertained
live testimony from four people he characterized as “victims” — a wounded survivor and family members of
people who died in the 1975 explosion in New York’s Fraunces Tavern — even though Oscar was never accused
or convicted of anything related to the explosion.
Susler, noting that the Puerto Rico Bar Association had
petitioned for observer status at the hearing, but that the Parole Commission failed to respond to the request of
that venerable institution, vehemently objected to the observer status of retired FBI agent Donald Wofford. Tanner overruled
her objections.
Tanner provided Susler a 7 page letter from Chicago U.S. Attorney
Patrick Fitzgerald, a political diatribe opposing parole, listing acts unrelated to Oscar and unsupported conclusions about
his role in the clandestine movement.
Tanner first interrogated Oscar about his role in the offense, insisting
that he admit or deny his guilt and, further, that he talk about his role in the FALN, the seditious conspiracy,
and the conspiracy to escape. Insisting that Oscar was a leader, Tanner was not interested in Oscar’s recounting of
his own history of having been drafted into the infantry to fight an unjust U.S. war against the people of Vietnam. He was
equally uninterested in Oscar’s recounting of the history of repression of and violence against the independence movement,
as well as the history of the Bureau of Prisons’ sting operations and false accusations against him.
Tanner demonstrated more interest in what the “victims”
had to say, and paid close attention to their misinformed vitriol and name-calling spewed against Oscar.
Susler attempted to bring Tanner’s attention to the matter at
hand, reciting the criteria for release on parole and demonstrating how the evidence proved that Oscar meets the criteria:
1) that in the past 20 years of prison, he has not been accused of
a violating a single prison rule;
2) that his release would not depreciate the seriousness of the offense
or promote disrespect for the law; and 3) that release would not jeopardize the public welfare.
She pointed out President Clinton’s determination in 1999 that
Oscar’s sentence was disproportionately lengthy and that his offer of clemency would have resulted in Oscar’s
release in September of 2009. She focused Tanner on the fact that the political prisoners released as a result of
the Clinton clemency are productive citizens, fully integrated into civil society. She noted the Parole Commission’s
decision to release Carlos Alberto Torres in July of 2010. And she recited in detail the support for his release
from virtually the entire civil society in Puerto Rico, drawing Tanner’s attention not only to the support letters
from thousands of people, but noting the support from the pro-statehood resident commissioner to the U.S. Congress who represents
the close to 4 million people of Puerto Rico.
Oscar’s statements and those of his lawyer fell on deaf ears.
While Tanner admitted that Oscar had the best possible Salient Factor score, and that he had served 356 months, which he characterized
as “way beyond” the guidelines minimum requirement of 100 months, he nevertheless announced his negative recommendation.
Susler immediately responded that such a recommendation ignored the express will of the Puerto Rican people and
their supporters.
The recommendation denying parole was the goal of the right wing,
which in the few days prior to the parole hearing, created an environment of lies and innuendos in the media, reminiscent
of the right wing reaction to the 1999 clemency. They barraged the Parole Commission with phone calls opposing parole. However,
when Oscar’s supporters called, the Commission stopped answering the phones.
"Agitation, organization,
resistance, struggle and love are the ingredients that will guarantee us VICTORY!" -
Oscar
Lopez Rivera, Puerto Rican Political Prisoner
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