Mandy Hiscocks

it’s October. The leaves are turning, the nights are getting cold and i have only 8 weeks left in this sentence.

the organizing against the 2010 G20 summit has been part of my life in some form or other since the fall of 2008.  it’s hard to believe this part of my life is coming to a close, and at the same time it’s hard to believe it’s taken so long — it’s been almost 2.5 years since my arrest.  oh, the wheels of “justice,” grinding on.

and I’m one of the lucky ones!

as i start to wrap up my life as a prisoner and turn my mind to life on the outside I’m thinking a lot about other folks who still find themselves in the grip of the state. 

for over two years now people arrested for their (alleged) participation in the protests against the G20 have had to put their lives on hold while people in suits and odd-looking  pretentious robes discuss their fate.  this limbo has been different for different people but has generally meant some combination of detention, house arrest, restrictive bail conditions including separation from their community due to forced relocation and/or non-association, loss of employment, interruption of schooling, massive expense and strain on relationships.

some people’s charges have been dealt with. many of the “guilty” are still serving sentences in jail or conditional sentences in the community, or are on probation (which can be very restrictive and can last for years).  the “innocent” are picking up the pieces with no help, or apology, or compensation from the system that wrongly accused them.  the” presumed innocent” — and what a joke that is — continue to wait.

one of these is a woman from Vancouver known to me only as activist x. it’s very difficult to be facing charges that are so far away, and the incredibly broad and isolating non-association conditions she’s been living under have made things even harder for her. please take a moment to see if there is anything you can do to help — she urgently needs our support. information is on this website and on facebook — Vancouver g20 support. 

there are also a couple of people from Montreal awaiting trial but i have no information about them. if anyone does, could you send it my way?

last month i wrote about the upcoming trials (and tribulations?) of Julian Ichim and Dan Keller. Julian had his preliminary inquiry on September 18th, which resulted in indictment, so he will be proceeding to trial (as far as i know the date is yet to be announced). 

George Horton was sentenced in September and is currently imprisoned at the don jail in Toronto  information about him and his case can be found here and on facebook at ABC Peterborough. i hear he will be putting out a statement soon. if you’d like to write him the address is: George John Horton, Toronto jail, 550 Gerrard St. E., Toronto Ontario, 4M 1X6.

Alex Hundert’s statement to the court is now posted, and he continues to blog from central north correctional centre.  you can write to him at: Alexander Thunder, central north correctional centre. 1501 fuller ave., Penetanguishene, ON. L9M 2H4.

finally, please check out this recent update on the situation of Kelly Pflug-Beck, (update on health), who is in prison here at Vanier we’ve been kept apart since she arrived due to extreme paranoia in the upper echelons of this institution, so i only know what i hear from the outside. at this time you shouldn’t expect to get a response from Kelly (in fact it’s probably best never to just assume that someone in jail will write you back) but if you’d like to drop her a line she can be reached at: Kelly Pflug-Beck, Vanier centre for women, 655 martin street, box 1040, Milton, on, L9T 5E6.

from the very beginning it’s been extremely difficult to find out about all the different people dealing with G20 related charges. despite what the crown and the cops dearly love to believe, we’re actually not all part of some nefarious, centralized, quasi-terrorist organization. shocker, i know. so if you have any information about other people who are trying to raise awareness about their case, please do pass it on.

as always,  i thank you for your support and hope that you’ll extend it to these folks and other prisoners as well. 

cheers, mandy 🙂

This post was originally published on bored but not broken