http://orinocotribune.com/chelsea-mannings-lawyers-ask-court-to-release-her-pending-appeal-citing-abuse-of-district-court-discretion

Today, Chelsea Manning’s legal team asked the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to release her from jail, pending her appeal because the District Court failed to consider evidence that would excuse her from having to give testimony before the grand jury.

Ms. Manning was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia in early March. She asserted that answering questions before the grand jury would violate her constitutional and statutory rights. Without commenting on Ms. Manning’s arguments, District Court Judge Claude Hilton ordered her confined for the term of the grand jury, or until she agrees to give testimony. Ms. Manning appealed the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Friday March, 29th, and now asks for bail pending determination of the appeal. Release must be granted as long as the appeal is neither frivolous nor a delay tactic.

RELATED CONTENT: Chelsea Manning Jailed for Not Testifying Against WikiLeaks

Ms. Manning has been held in “administrative segregation” at the Alexandria Detention Center since March 8, 2019, under conditions that amount to prolonged solitary confinement, something Juan Mendez, former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, has said “must be absolutely prohibited, because it always amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and may even constitute torture.”

A witness may be civilly confined in order to coerce cooperation with the grand jury, but may not be punished. Since the conditions of her confinement have now become punitive, Ms. Manning contends, the Circuit should order her release.

According to Ms. Manning’s attorney, Moira Meltzer-Cohen, “This is the strongest appeal of a grand jury contempt I have ever seen, and so release ought to be granted. The lower court acted without considering clear legal mandates and this error, including the denial of release, must be corrected in the appellate court.”

Source URL: The Sparrow Project

http://orinocotribune.com/game-changer-china-quietly-sends-100-troops-to-venezuela-reports

Washington needs to re-think its clumsy and provocative foreign policy.

The reported arrival of Chinese military personnel in Venezuela last weekend is undoubtedly a major event in world politics.

Unlike Russia, which has a history of force projection abroad, this is an extremely rare Chinese move. Although vital Chinese interests are at stake in the war against terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Syria, China refrained from publicising any such deployment.

RELATED CONTENT: The Cuban Army Will Support Maduro in the Event of US Interference

UIC Rally: Undergraduates Stand in Solidarity with GEO

UIC Student Union‎

When educators are mistreated by the education system, students are mistreated as well.

This is why UIC undergraduate students are standing in solidarity with the GEO and fighting back: the quality of education depends on the well-being and fair treatment of educators.

Undergraduate students will be holding a rally with the GEO on Friday, April 5th at 12 p.m. outside at the quad. The American Spanish-speaking news network Univision will be present and reporting on the event.

Now that teachers assistants have walked out of the classroom, undergraduate students are losing out on their education. For this loss, undergraduates are demanding the administration to accommodate and make up for their educational needs during this conflict.

Standing up for graduate workers’ rights is fighting for a quality education that every student deserves! Come join us as we continue to raise our voices!

Pack The Court For Chrystul! (Prelim Hearing)

912 56th Street #L, Kenosha, 9 A.M. – 12 NOON

This is the next preliminary hearing for Chrystul. The hearing starts at 9:30. We’ll get there by 9:00 to make sure we get good seats. Chrystul’s favorite color is red, and we’ll have red armbands and buttons like last time, but if you wear red it’ll increase the impact.

Last hearing the judge ruled in favor of Chrystul’s attorneys! He granted release of evidence regarding Volar’s child pornography activities. We also learned that the Kenosha police disclosed another pile of evidence from that investigation (which is unusual, especially with how emphatic DA Gravely has been about how he disclosed everything to the judge previously). The new documents include about 100 pages and 30 hours of video.

This hearing will be to discuss what portion of that evidence is “discoverable” that is, what should be made available to Chrystul’s attorneys.

Last time the hearing was also delayed 45 minutes while others’ cases were heard in the same room. This may have been because court was simply backlogged, or it may have been an intentional effort to deter us from coming back. So, plan for some unpredictability, but it is better to show up even if you have to leave before things start if there’s another delay in the future.

Chrystul will be there, riding a cold prison bus almost 2 hours there and back from Taycheedah, so it would likely boost her spirits to see some supporters in court.

A note on court etiquette: try to dress nice (doesn’t need to be formal, but presentable), take off hats when you enter the room, no using phones or talking while court is in session (when the judge is in the room). Some members of Volar’s family often show up, so we should try to sit together as a group. Be polite, but try to avoid interaction with them.

We want to show the judge and the DA that Chrystul is loved and missed, without making them feel disrespected or antagonistic.

More Info:

https://www.facebook.com/WisconsinNetwork/

http://region7.weac.org/

https://www.facebook.com/MyWEAC/