Virginia: Rashid has been transferred! YOUR CALLS ARE WORKING

From Prison Radio:

This week, we were overjoyed to learn that Kevin “Rashid” Johnson has been transferred to the Eastern side of Virginia, closer to the medical facilities that provide his care. This demand was central to his hunger strike and we are celebrating this small but mighty victory in the face of the state’s repression of this visionary artist and intellectual.

We put out the call, and YOU answered. This victory would not have been possible without the collective pressure we put on the VADOC to respect Rashid’s life and honor his wishes. THANK YOU.

We are still concerned about the fact that Rashid’s inmate record has not been restored. This tactic of “disappearing” prisoners is a repressive, internationally illegal practice that has been used to hide what’s going on inside fascist penal systems and to prevent oversight.

Our reports indicate that he is in much better health. He lost a lot of weight during the hunger strike, but he has already gained back much of it. He has had his tablet restored so that he can communicate via email. Phone communications are in the process of being restored.

He is not in solitary confinement as he was at Red Onion State Prison.

This report is incomplete, as communications remain somewhat spotty, but we are relieved and grateful for these changes.

Solidarity actions for Rashid over the past months have shown the power of working together to demand that the prison system be held accountable for its abuses. We will NOT let the state disappear our comrade. We are looking forward to getting a call from Rashid as soon as his phone privileges are restored! Please stay tuned to hear from him and in the meantime check out his past commentaries in the sidebar.

If you are hearing about this for the first time… Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, a journalist, artist, and prison intellectual, has been retaliated against by guards and prison officials for years. He has been writing and drawing and speaking out about the inhumanity of American prisons. He has been continually punished for exercising his First Amendment rights.  Rashid began a hunger strike inside Red Onion State Prison to protest his transfer, medical neglect, and solitary confinement. Rights Behind Bars, a non-profit legal advocacy organization, filed a lawsuit to take action against the VADOC for unconstitutional retaliation by guards and officials. After more than 2 months without food, and Rashid’s supporters putting constant pressure on the VADOC to heed his demands, Rashid has been transferred to a facility that will allow him to access his medical treatments for prostate cancer and congestive heart failure.

Rashid has been a Prison Radio correspondent since 2012. You can see a gallery of his artwork and commentaries on our website. His commentaries have always focused on exposing the prison system’s abuses of power. These voices are essential to the movement and we need to do everything we can to keep them in the conversation.