Scholars for Oscar López Rivera - The Campaign to Free Oscar

Transcription

Scholars for Oscar López Rivera
An Initiative of the National Boricua Human Rights Network (NBHRN)
2739 W. Division Street, Chicago, IL 60622 • www.boricuahumanrights.org • [email protected]
Oscar López Rivera Freedom Campaign
People of conscience in Puerto Rico and around the world – including prominent
figures such as Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, acclaimed novelist and activist
Arundhati Roy, and philosopher and public intellectual Cornel West – have joined
their voices in support of the immediate release of the longest held political
prisoner in Puerto Rican history.
Oscar López Rivera, 71, has spent the last 32 years of his life in U.S. prisons under
torturous conditions, isolated from his people and his loved ones, and punished for
his internationally recognized commitment to the independence of Puerto Rico.
A community organizer, decorated Vietnam veteran, father and grandfather, he is
serving a 70-year sentence for seditious conspiracy, the exact charge levied against
South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela. In López Rivera’s case, he participated in the struggle to end the
U.S. colonization of Puerto Rico, which began in 1898 at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War. Though he
was not convicted of harming or killing anyone, he has served more time in prison than many people convicted of
violent offenses. Moreover, his co-defendants - released in 1999 by a presidential executive clemency – are productive, law-abiding members of civil society.
An international campaign is currently calling on U.S. President Barack Obama to immediately commute the
sentence of Oscar López-Rivera. In 2014 – the thirty-third year of his incarceration – this campaign is launching a
new initiative: Scholars for Oscar López Rivera. This initiative seeks to integrate intellectuals, writers, and researchers into the campaign to free López Rivera.
Ways to Support
1) Submit letter of support on university/department stationery. (See attached template).
2) Reach out to other professors of conscience to join the Scholars for Oscar López Rivera initiative.
3) Circulate general public petition to your students, friends, and other allies (See attached petition).
4) Organize educational teach-ins, forums, and activities on your campus.
For More Information on the Case of Oscar López Rivera
On Democracy Now
www.democracynow.org/2013/5/31/oscar_lpez_rivera_after_32_years
Statement from the People’s Law Office
www.peopleslawoffice.com/case-of-oscar-lopez-rivera/
Commentary published by Counterpunch
http://bit.ly/1kYLDX9
Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Oscar López Rivera
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi7uorpvmSs
Oscar López Rivera’s published letters to granddaughter
http://bit.ly/1cjoFoX
Send letters and/or petitions to the
National Boricua
Human Rights Network
E-mail:
[email protected]
Or
Mail:
ATTN: Alejandro Molina
2739 W. Division Street
Chicago, IL 60622
Oscar López Rivera
Biography
Puerto Rican political prisoner
Oscar López Rivera has served
33 years in prison as of May 29,
2014, convicted of seditious
conspiracy for his commitment
to the independence of Puerto
Rico, though he was not accused
or convicted of causing harm or
taking a life.
Serving a sentence of 70 years, he is
the longest held political prisoners
in the history of Puerto Rico and
one of the longest held in the world.
He is 71 years old, and will be 80 by
the time of his release date in 2023.
No other country keeps its political
prisoners behind bars for as many
decades as does the United States.
Early Years
Born in 1943 in San Sebastián,
Puerto Rico, at age 14 he moved
to Chicago, as part of “Operation
Bootstrap,” a mass migration of
Puerto Ricans to U.S. cities in
search of work. He quickly learned
English and helped his Spanishspeaking neighbors. Graduating
from high school and entering
college, he soon had to abandon his
studies to help support his family.
Drafted into U.S. Army
Like many young Puerto Rican
men, he was drafted into the
U.S. Army and sent to Vietnam.
There he began to understand his
identity as a Puerto Rican, seeing
other Puerto Rican soldiers with
Puerto Rican flags on their helmets
and talking about independence
and self-determination for Puerto
Rico. He began to see that he
had more in common with the
Vietnamese people, fighting for
their own independence and selfdetermination, than he had with
the U.S. armed forces. He was
decorated with the Bronze Star for
meritorious achievement in ground
operations against hostile forces.
clinics and other community
institutions; and convince the
government and utility companies
to hire people of color.
Joined the
Independence Movement
He came to understand the
importance of a people’s selfdetermination, and also worked
for the release of five Puerto Rican
Nationalist Party prisoners serving
the equivalent of life sentences in
U.S. prisons for their commitment
to Puerto Rican independence.
Learning that hundreds of Puerto
Ricans had suffered prison for this
just cause, he could little imagine
that one day he would become the
longest held of them all.
Worked to improve
Honorably discharged from the
Army, he returned home to find
Chicago’s Puerto Rican community
in dire straits: many close friends
and neighbors had succumbed
to the drug epidemic; the
problems of education, housing,
unemployment and health had
reached catastrophic levels; and
the power structure responded
with negligence and bigotry.
Disproportionately sentenced,
torturous prison conditions
In 1981, after his conviction for
seditious conspiracy and sentence
of 55 years for being part of
the Armed Forces of National
Liberation, prison authorities began
to single him out for more onerous
treatment. In 1986, following a
government sting operation, he and
others were accused of conspiring
to escape from prison, and he was
sentenced to an additional 15
years. Again, he was not convicted
of causing harm or taking a life.
Unwilling to ignore these unjust
conditions, he became a talented
community organizer, helping to
implement bilingual education;
integrate the public universities;
offer educational programs in the
prisons; found alternative schools,
health and drug rehabilitation
The government used the sting
operation as justification for placing
him in supermax prisons under
torturous conditions of isolation for
more than 12 years, during which
he saw his family only through a
glass barrier, deprived of all human
contact. His granddaughter was
1
seven years old when he was
finally able to hug her for the first
time. When his mother died from
Alzheimer’s, he was not allowed to
attend her funeral.
In prison, the other prisoners
affectionately call him “El Viejo”
(old man). He has taught many
of them to read and write, and to
speak English. A self-taught artist,
his paintings and drawings were
exhibited in Not Enough Space, an
exhibit that traveled throughout
the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
He now teaches fellow prisoners to
draw and paint. A voracious reader,
he tries to keep abreast of current
world events. A vegetarian and
exercise enthusiast, he works hard
to maintain his health.
1999 commutations
In 1999, President Clinton
commuted the sentences of eleven
of Oscar’s co-defendants after they
served from 16 to 20 years, having
determined that their sentences
were disproportionately lengthy.
He offered to commute Oscar’s
sentence, on the condition that
he serve an additional ten years in
prison with good discipline. Oscar
did not accept the offer, as it did
not include all the Puerto Rican
political prisoners, and because he
knew, from his extensive experience
at the hands of his jailers, that
if he accepted they would never
have allowed him to successfully
complete the conditions. Under
the president’s offer, he would
have been released in September
of 2009. Oscar has now served an
additional 15 years in prison with
good discipline.
Those released in 1999 were
received with a hero’s welcome,
and went on to live productive,
law-abiding lives, fully integrated
into civil society.
President Clinton did not offer to
commute the sentence of Oscar’s
co-defendant Carlos Alberto
Torres, also serving a sentence
of 70 years, also never accused
or convicted of causing harm or
taking a life. In July of 2010, he
was paroled after serving 30 years,
and also received with a hero’s
welcome.
Oscar is now the only one of his
generation still in prison.
Parole denied
The U.S. Parole Commission
recently unjustifiably denied Oscar
parole, ordering that he serve
another 15 years behind bars before
he would be considered again for
parole, when he will be 83 years
old.
Clemency
A petition for commutation of
his sentence is pending, and asks
President Obama to exercise his
constitutional powers to grant
Oscar immediate release. The
petition enjoys wide support
in the U.S., Puerto Rico and
internationally.
Three U.S. presidents have
exercised the pardon power with
Puerto Rican political prisoners:
• President Truman in 1952
commuted
Nationalist
Party
prisoner Oscar Collazo’s death
sentence to one of life in prison;
• President Carter in 1977
commuted the sentence of
Nationalist Party prisoner Andrés
Figueroa Cordero, and in 1979
commuted the sentences of
Nationalist Party prisoners Oscar
Collazo, Lolita Lebrón, Rafael
Cancel Miranda and Irvin Flores,
after they served 29 and 25 years in
prison;
• President Clinton in 1999
commuted the sentences of Edwin
Cortés, Elizam Escobar, Ricardo
Jiménez, Adolfo Matos, Dylcia
Pagán, Juan Segarra Palmer, Alberto
Rodríguez, Alicia Rodríguez, Lucy
Rodríguez, Luis Rosa, Alejandrina
Torres, and Carmen Valentín, after
they served 16 and 20 years in
prison.
Postal mailing address:
Oscar López Rivera
87651-024
FCI Terre Haute, PO Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808
National Boricua Human Rights Network, 2739 W. Division St., Chicago, IL 60622 • www.boricuahumanrights.org
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Oscar López Rivera
Reasons for Release
• Convicted of seditious conspiracy (conspiring against
the authority of the U.S.
over Puerto Rico).
• Not convicted of harming or
killing anyone.
• Age 71, serving a sentence
of 70 years.
in prison with no disciplinary infractions, because he
felt his jailers would manufacture false charges and
not allow him to complete
this term, and because
1999 presidential commutation did not include
two of his companions, he
rejected the offer.
• Has served more than 32
years in prison, since his
May 29, 1981 arrest.
• The two not included in the
1999 offer have since been
released.
• Held in solitary confinement
for more than 12 of those
32 years, subjected to
sensory deprivation, sleep
deprivation, psychological
torture.
• Is the only one from his case
remaining behind bars.
• Release date June 26, 2023,
when he will be 80 years
old.
• Former community organizer
in Chicago’s Puerto Rican
and Latino communities.
• Most co-defendants released
in 1999 by presidential
commutation of their
disproportionate sentences
ranging from 35 to 90
years; all living productive,
law-abiding lives.
• Father of Clarisa, 42 year
old with MBA; grandfather of Karina, 23 year old
master’s degree candidate;
older family members aging
and passing away.
• In 1999 when offered commutation which required
him to serve 10 more years
• U.S. Army veteran, served in
Vietnam, decorated with
Bronze Star.
leaders (United Methodist
Church, United Church
of Christ, Rev. Wilfredo de
Jesús, Rev. Luis Cortés).
• Broad support for his release
in Puerto Rico: government (Governor Alejandro
García Padilla, Senate,
House of Representatives, City Councils); civic
leaders (Puerto Rico Bar
Association; Puerto Rico
College of Physicians and
Surgeons); labor (Teamsters, Change to Win,
UTIER, Puerto Rican
Workers Central); churches and religious leaders
(Ecumenical and Interreligious Coalition of Puerto
Rico, Archbishop Roberto
González Nieves); academic and artistic community
(Ricky Martin, Calle 13).
internationally: UN Decolonization Committee,
CELAC, World Federation
of Trade Unions Region of
the Americas, Archbishop
Desmond Tutu.
in U.S.: labor (SEIU, AFLCIO, AFSCME, LCLAA);
churches and religious
National Boricua Human Rights Network, 2739 W. Division St., Chicago, IL 60622 • www.boricuahumanrights.org
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YOUR LETTERHEAD GOES HERE
Honorable Barack H. Obama
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C.
Re: Oscar López Rivera, 87651-024
FCI Terre Haute
Dear President Obama,
As [your title, such as elected Member of the Chicago City Council] I write to
urge you to commute Mr. López Rivera’s sentence and grant him immediate release. I am
glad to add my voice to the chorus of many national and international figures and human
rights and religious organizations who support his release, including the United Nations
Decolonization Committee.
Mr. López Rivera, a 68-year-old Vietnam veteran and former community organizer,
was one of many Puerto Rican men and women arrested in the early 1980’s and convicted
of acts related to the movement for the independence of Puerto Rico and sentenced to
prison terms ranging from 35 to 90 years. In August of 1999, President Clinton determined
that their sentences were disproportionately lengthy, and offered to commute them to time
served. Most accepted the President’s offer, and the Puerto Rican people on the island and
in Puerto Rican and Latino communities throughout the U.S. welcomed them as heroes.
As to Mr. López Rivera, he offered to commute his sentence on the condition that he serve
an additional 10 years in prison with no disciplinary infractions, making his release date
September of 2009. Had he accepted the offer, he would have been released over two years
ago. Meanwhile, he has successfully served an additional 12 years with no disciplinary
infractions.
President Clinton’s critics insisted that those released were unrepentant terrorists
who would engage in acts of violence and create havoc and mayhem. None of their
predictions has come true. Since 1999, his compatriots established productive, law-abiding
lives, embraced by and fully integrated into civil society, and after just five years, the
Parole Commission granted early termination of their supervision, with the full support of
Puerto Rican civil society. In July of 2010, the Parole Commission granted release to his
compatriot Carlos Alberto Torres, after he served 30 years of his 70-year sentence, again
at the urging of Puerto Rican civil society, in the U.S. and on the island, and the human
rights community.
In 2009, when Attorney General holder was questioned in his confirmation
hearings, he defended President Clinton’s decision to grant clemency as “reasonable,”
noting that they had not committed any acts resulting in death or bodily injury,
mentioning the significant amount of time they had served in prison, and listing the broad
support for their release, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other Nobel Peace Prize
Laureates, Coretta Scott King and President Carter.
Mr. López Rivera is now the only pro-independence prisoner arrested in the 1980’s
who is still in prison.
The stellar record established by all of Mr. López Rivera’s compatriots, as well as
the breadth of economic, social and family support that awaits him, certainly provides
assurance that he will conduct himself in similar fashion.
As [your title, such as elected Member of the Chicago City Council], I urge you to
commute his sentence and grant him immediate release. Thank you.
Yours truly,
[your title, such as elected Member of the Chicago City Council]
LIST OF SUPPORT
for Oscar López Rivera’s Release
(partial list post-1999)
FCI Terre Haute
circa 2011
Age 68
INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL
RESOLUTIONS/LETTERS OF SUPPORT
United Nations Decolonization Committee Resolutions (various years, including the following:)
Special Committee decision of 17 June 2013 concerning Puerto Rico
A/AC.109/2013/L.6
A/AC.109/2012/L.7
A/AC.109/2011/L.6
With mother Andrea
Rivera “Mita”
(now deceased)
USP Leavenworth
circa 1982
Age 39
In US Army
circa 1965
Age 22
A/AC.109/2010/L.8.
A/AC.109/2010/L.8.
A/AC.109/2009/L.13.
A/AC.109/2008/L.7.
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/N08/280/25/PDF/N0828025.
pdf?OpenElement
pdf?OpenElement
pdf?OpenElement
pdf?OpenElement
pdf?OpenElement
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pdf?OpenElement
Senado, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico [Senate, Free Associated State
of Puerto Rico] (May 2013)
Cámara de Representantes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico [House of
Representatives, Free Associated State of Puerto Rico] (May 2004)
Representatives, Free Associated State of Puerto Rico] (October 2006)
Representatives, Free Associated State of Puerto Rico] (March 2013)
Representatives, Free Associated State of Puerto Rico] (November 2013)
Puerto Rico House of Representatives Popular Democratic Party Caucus
Popular Democratic Party, Governing Board (June 2012)
Declaration of the Association of Mayors of Puerto Rico
Resolution of the Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico [Puerto Rico Bar Association]
American Association of Jurists (Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 2008;
Caracas, Venezuela, September 2009; Quito, Ecuador, 2010)
American Association of Jurists (Statement to General Assembly of Human
Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland, March 12, 2012)
American Association of Jurists, Puerto Rico Chapter
International Association of Democratic Lawyers (Hanoi, Viet Nam, June
2009)
National Lawyers Guild (Seattle, WA, 2009; New Orleans, LA, 2010; Philadelphia, PA, 2011)
World Council of the Socialist International (Costa Rica, January 2012)
Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América (February 2012)
Foro Mundial (Sao Paolo, January 2012)
Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (December 2011)
Conferencia Permanente de Partidos Políticos de América Latina y el Caribe
Regional Ecumenical Organizations and National Council of Churches Consultation on Conciliar Ecumenism (February 2012, Lebanon)1
7
With brother José
FCI Terre Haute
circa 2010
Age 67
Council of Churches of Puerto Rico (October 2013)
United Methodist Church (Fort Worth, TX)
Methodist Church of Puerto Rico (Río Piedras, Puerto Rico)
With sister Clara
(now deceased)
FCI Terre Haute
circa 2009
Age 66
United Church of Christ (28th General Synod, Tampa FL, July 2011)
Congreso Latinoamericano y Caribeño por la Independencia de Puerto Rico
[Latin American and Caribbean Congress for the Independence of Puerto
Rico] (Panamá, 2006)
Partido Alternativo Popular de Panamá (July 2011)
Resolution of the Puerto Rican Agenda for the 21st Century (New York City)
Human Rights Commission of the Bar Association of Puerto Rico
Coalición Ecuménica e Interreligiosa de Puerto Rico2 [Ecumenical and Interreligious Coalition of Puerto Rico]
Consejo Latinoamericano de Iglesias [Latin American Council of Churches]
Socialist International, Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean
(Guatemala)
Amnesty International, Puerto Rico Chapter
City Council of San Juan
City Council of Hormigueros
City Council of Lajas
City Council of Guánica
City Council of San Sebastían
City Council of Comerío
City Council of Mayagüez
City Council of Jayuya
City Council of Aibonito
City Council of Añasco
1. Twenty-six General, Executive Secretaries and leaders of national and regional councils
of churches from Switzerland, India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cuba, Jamaica, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
Korea, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Canada, Norway, Hong Kong, Finland, Malaysia, Tahiti, the
United Kingdom, Belgium, Ecuador, Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Puerto Rico, signed
on to this letter.
8
City Council of Toa Baja
City Council of Rincón
City Council of Arroyo
With daughter Clarisa
and grandaughter
Karina
USP Terre Haute
circa 1999
Age 56
City Council of Guayanilla
City Council of Peñuelas
City Council of Aguada
City Council of Yauco
City Council of Moca
City Council of Ponce
Service Employees International Union Executive Bureau [representing 2.1
million members] (May 2012)
American Federation of State, Councils, and Municipal Employees [representing 1.4 million workers in the United States and Puerto Rico] (40th
National Convention, September 2012)
3rd General Congress of the Federation of Workers of the Universities of the
Americas (CONTUA) (Mexico City, October 2013)
Asociación de Empleados Jubilados de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Inc.
[Association of Retired Employees of the University of Puerto Rico, Inc.]
(September 2013)
Central Puertorriqueña de Trabajadores / Confederación Sindical de las
Américas [24 unions, representing 45,000 workers] (May 2012)
Federación de Trabajadores / AFL-CIO [16 unions, representing 45,000 workers] (May 2012, November 2012)
Coalición Alianza Laboral / Change to Win [4 unions, representing 45,000
workers] (May 2012)
2. This Coalition includes all the major denominations in Puerto Rico: Monseñor Roberto O. González Nieves, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Juan; Monseñor Rubén
González, Bishop of the Caguas Diocese and President of the Puerto Rican Conference of
Bishops; Reverend Esteban González Dobles, General Pastor, Disciples of Christ in Puerto
Rico; Reverend Felipe Lozada Montañez, Bishop of the Lutheran Synod in the Caribbean
and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Reverend Roberto Dieppa Báez, Executive Minister, Baptist Church of Puerto Rico; Reverend Edward Rivera Santiago, General
Pastor, United Evangelical Church of Puerto Rico; Reverend Rafael Moreno Rivas, Bishop
of the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico; Reverend Eunice Santana, Caribbean Institute of
Ecumenical Action and Formation, and Past President of the World Council of Churches;
Anc. Edwin Quiles Rodríguez, Executive, Presbyterian Church, Puerto Rican Synod; Reverend Heriberto Martínez Rivera, General Secretary, Biblical Society of Puerto Rico.
9
Coordinadora Sindical [17 unions, representing 17,000 workers] (May 2012)
Teamsters Local Union No. 901, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands [representing
more than 3,800 workers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands] (September
2012)
USP Marion
circa 1998
Age 55
Unión de Abogados y Abogadas de Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico [Union
of Legal Services Attorneys of Puerto Rico] (December 2013)
Unión de Trabajadores de la Industria Eléctrica y Riego de Puerto Rico
(UTIER) Convention [Union of Electrical and XXXX] (November 2013)
Colegio de Profesionales en el Trabajo Social de Puerto Rico [Association of
Social Work Professionals of Puerto Rico] (May 2013)
Asociación Nacional de Escuelas de Trabajo Social de Puerto Rico [National
Association of Social Work Schools of Puerto Rico] (May 2013)
Comité Latinoamericano y Caribeño de Organizaciones, Profesionales de Trabajo Social /Servicio Social [Social Work / Social Service Professionals, Latin
American and Caribbean Committee (May 2013)
Concilio Cristo Nuestra Justicia en Puerto Rico (2013)
Orden de la Solidaridad ‘El Mehdi Ben Barka’ otorgada por la Organización
de Solidaridad con los Pueblos de Asia, África y América Latina (OSPAAAL)
[‘El Mehdi Ben Barka’ Solidarity Award, awarded by the Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America] (2013)
U.S./Cuba/Mexico/Latin America Labor Conference (Tijuana, August 2012)
International Network of Women Against Militarism (Puerto Rico, February
2012)
Un Pueblo: Diálogo de líderes puertorriqueños sobre asuntos sociales y mecanismos procesales para resolver el asunto del estatus [One People: Dialogue
of Puerto Rican leaders about social affairs and procedural mechanisms to
resolve the status question; including Service Employees International Union,
Unión General de Trabajadores UGT 1199PR, Sindicato Puertorriqueños de
Trabajadores SPT1996] (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Hermandad de Empleados Exentos No Docentes de la Universidad de Puerto
Rico [Brotherhood of Exempt Non Teaching Employees of the University of
Puerto Rico]
El Partido de los Trabajadores [Workers Party]
World Federation of Trade Unions, Region of the Americas
International Syndicate of Elevator Constructors of Mexico
10
Cooperative of Equipping and Maintaining Vertical Transport of Mexico
Popular Alternative Party of Panama
14th Congress of the International Democratic Federation of Women (April
2007)
Liga de Cooperativas de Puerto Rico [Cooperative League of Puerto Rico]
(June 2013)
Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito de la Federación de Maestros de Puerto
Rico [Puerto Rico Federation of Teachers Credit Union] (April 2013)
Cooperativa Ahorro y Crédito de la Casa del Trabajador
Cooperativa de Viviendas el Alcazar (June 2013)
Grito de los Excluidos Conference (Santo Domingo; Madrid)
Conmemoración del Grito de Lares
Conmemoración del Cero de los Mártires
Veterans for Peace Convention (Madison, Wisconsin, 2013)
Centro Cultural Cirilo W. Meijers, Comerío, Puerto Rico
Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico
Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño
Federacion de Universitarios Pro Independencia (Puerto Rico)
Movimiento Socialista de los Trabajadores (Puerto Rico)
Frente Socialista (Puerto Rico)
Coordinadora Latinoamerica y Caribeña de Puerto Rico
Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano
Movimiento al Socialismo (Puerto Rico)
Partido Comunista de Puerto Rico
Brigada Juan Rius Rivera
Frente Amplio de Solidaridad y Lucha (FASyL)
La Nueva Escuela
Organización Puertorriqueña de la Mujer Trabajadora
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With friend in Army
circa 1966
Age 23
Casa las Américas (New York City)
Central Florida Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (April
2012)
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, National Executive Board
(July 2012)
FCI Terre Haute
circa 2010
Age 67
First Congress for Regional Political Integration (Uruguay, April 2012)
Puerto Rico College of Physicians and Surgeons (June 2012)
18th Meeting of the Sao Paolo Forum (July 2012)
Summit on Human Rights 2012 for the Release of Oscar López Rivera and to
the Memory of Attorney Juan Santiago (San Juan, December 7-10, 2012)
ELECTED OFFICIALS AND CIVIC LEADERS
Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua
Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela
Raúl Alfonsín, ex-President of Argentina
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Argentina
Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Ireland
José Ramos Horta, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, East Timor
Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Guatemala
Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, United States
Alejandro J. García Padilla, Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Former Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico
Sila M. Calderón, Former Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Pedro Rosselló, Former Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Eduardo A. Bhatia, President of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico
David E. Bernier Rivera, Secretary of State, Department of State of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Augustín Montañéz Allman, Esq., Veterans Advocate of the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico
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Carlos J. López Nieves, former Procurador del Ciudadano [Ombudsman]
Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto, Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico; former Representative, House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
William Miranda Marín, Mayor of Caguas, Puerto Rico (deceased)
Pedro J. García Figueroa, Mayor of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
Josean Santiago, Mayor of Comerío, Puerto Rico
Dámaso Serrano, former Mayor of Vieques, Puerto Rico
Javier Jiménez Pérez, Mayor of San Sebastián, Puerto Rico
Aníbal Vega Borges, Mayor of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
María de Lourdes Santiago, Senator, Senate of Puerto Rico
Norma Burgos, Senator, Senate of Puerto Rico
Rubén Berríos Martínez, former Senator, Senate of Puerto Rico; President,
Puerto Rican Independence Party
Juan Dalmau, candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico
Ana Irma Rivera Lassén President, Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico
[Puerto Rico Bar Association]
Osvaldo Toledo Martínez, ex-President, Colegio de Abogados de Puerto
Rico [Puerto Rico Bar Association]
Julio Fontanet, ex-President, Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico [Puerto
Rico Bar Association]
Arturo Hernández, ex-Presidente, Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico
[Puerto Rico Bar Association]
Eduardo Villanueva Muñoz, Former President, Colegio de Abogados de
Puerto Rico [Puerto Rico Bar Association]
Noel Colón Martínez, Former President, Colegio de Abogados de Puerto
Rico [Puerto Rico Bar Association]
Eduardo Morales Coll, President, Ateneo Puertorriqueño
Norman Maldonado, M.D., FACP, Former President, University of Puerto
Rico
José Jaime Rivera, Ph.D., President, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, and
Former Chair, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
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With daughter Clarisa
circa 2010
Age 67
Jorge L. Sánchez, M.D., Professor Ad-Honorem, University of Puerto Rico,
and Former Acting President, University of Puerto Rico, and Former Chancellor of Medical Sciences and of Río Piedras Campus
Luce López Baralt, Distinguished Professor, University of Puerto Rico, Río
Piedras Campus
At family-owned and
operated resturant
circa 1968
Age 25
Iván A. Otero Matos, President Board of Directors, Cooperative League of
Puerto Rico
Mildred Santiago Ortiz, Executive Director, Cooperative League of Puerto
Rico
José E. Serrano, Member of U.S. Congress (D-NY)
Luis V. Gutiérrez, Member of U.S. Congress (D-IL)
Nydia M. Velázquez, Member of U.S. Congress (D-NY)
Pedro R. Pierluisi, Member of U.S. Congress (D-PR)
Alan Grayson, Member of U.S. Congress (D-FL)
Rubén Díaz, Sr., Senator, State of New York Senate
José Rivera, Assemblyman, State of New York Assembly
Nelson L. Castro, State Assemblyman, New York State Assembly
Peter Rivera, State Assemblyman, New York State Assembly
Cármen Arroyo, Assemblywoman, State of New York Assembly
Tony Payton, Jr., State Representative, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Nickie J. Antonio, State Representative-elect, Ohio House of Representatives
Melissa Mark Viverito, Speaker, City Council of the City of New York
Joel Rivera, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
Rosie Méndez, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
Gale A. Brewer, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
Letitia James, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
Brad Lander, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
Ydanis Rodríguez, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
14
Jumaane Williams, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
Danny Dromm, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
María del Carmen Arroyo, Council Member, City Council of the City of New
York
Annabel Palma, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
Charles Barron, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
Margaret S. Chin, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
Fernando Cabrera, Council Member, City Council of the City of New York
María D. Quiñones Sánchez, Councilwoman, City Council of the City of
Philadelphia
John Avalos, Member, Board of Supervisors, City and County of San Francisco, California
Angel Ortiz, former Council Member, City Council of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Billy Ocasio, former Alderman, City of Chicago
Roberto Maldonado, Alderman, City of Chicago; former Member of the
Cook County Board of Commissioners, Chicago
Jesús G. García, Member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Chicago
Edwin Reyes, Member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Chicago
Cynthia Soto, State Representative, State of Illinois House of Representatives
Iris Y. Martínez, State Representative, State of Illinois House of Representatives
Gayle McLaughlin, Mayor, City of Richmond, California
Manny Ortiz, former Deputy Mayor, City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Maxime Roumer, Senator of the Republic of Haiti
Susana Baca, ex-Minister of Culture of Perú; Singer/Songwriter
Edward James Olmos, actor
Danny Rivera, Singer/Songwriter
Roy Brown, Singer/Songwriter
15
Chicago, circa 1969
Age 26
Tito Auger, Singer/Songwriter
Jacobo Morales, Filmmaker
Miguel Zenón, Musician and composer, Multiple Grammy Nominee, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow
Eduardo Lalo, Writer, Artist
FCI Terre Haute
circa 2011
Age 68
René Pérez Joglar (Residente) and Eduardo José Cabra Martínez (Visitante) of
Calle 13, record-breaking Latin Grammy winners
Robi Draco Rosa, Grammy and Latin Grammy winner
Miguel Luciano, Artist
José M. Rodríguez Báez, President, Puerto Rico Federation of Labor (FTPR,
AFL-CIO)
Ramón L. Fuentes, President, Federación Puertorriqueña de Trabajadores
Luis Pedraza Leduc, Labor Coordinating Committee
Carmen Velázquez, Executive Director, Alivio Medical Center, Chicago
Álvaro R. Calderon, Jr., Attorney, Bufete Álvaro R. Calderon, Jr. SRL
Marimar Benítez, Former Chancellor of Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto
Rico
Gladys Vega, Executive Director, Chelsea Collaborative, Chelsea, MA
Kristofer S. Griffith, CIP, Manager, Human Research Regulations, Office of
Protocol Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Marian Cabanillas, Democratic Party, Houston, TX
Esteban Miranda, Democratic Party, Houston TX
Enrique Vila del Corral, CPA, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Mariame Cofresi-Aviles, M.D., Houston, TX
Pedro Díaz-Marchán, M.D., Democratic Party, Houston, TX
Myrna M. Rivera, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Carlos Fariñas, M.D., Democratic Party, Houston, TX
Tania Carvajal, Puerto Rico
José Itzigsohn, Professor, Department of Sociology, Brown University, Providence, RI
16
1,000 distinguished women from Puerto Rican civil society
Narayan Desai, Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad University,
India
Arundhati Roy, Novelist and Activist, India
Ashis Nandy, Political Psychologist, Social Theorist, Contemporary Cultural
and Political Critic, India
Ela Gandhi, Granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, and Member of Parliament,
South Africa
RELIGIOUS LEADERS
The Most Reverend Desmond M. Tutu, OMSG, DD, FRC, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa
Mons. Roberto Octavio González Nieves, OFM, Arzobispo Metropolitano de
San Juan, Puerto Rico [Archbishop of San Juan]
Luis Cardenal Aponte Martínez, Archbishop Emeritus of San Juan
Mons. Félix Lázaro Martínez, SchP, Bishop of Ponce
Mons. Iñaki Mallona Txertudi, CP, Bishop of Arecibo
Mons. Ulises Casiano Vargas, Bishop of Mayagüez
Mons. Rubén A. González Medina, CMP, Bishop of Caguas
Mons. Héctor Rivera Pérez, Auxiliary Bishop of San Juan
Mons. Hermín Negrón Santana, Auxiliary Bishop of San Juan
Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña [Puerto Rican Conference of Bishops]
Padre Angel Darío Carrero, OFM, Custodio de los Franciscanos del Caribe;
President, Conferencia de Religiosos de Puerto Rico
Reverend Heriberto Martínez, Secretary General of the Biblical Society of
Puerto Rico
Reverend Eunice Santana, Iglesia de los Discípulos de Cristo, former President of the World Council of Churches, Director of the Caribbean Institute
of Ecumenical Formation and Action
Reverend Alfonso Román, retired, United Church of Christ
Reverend C. Nozomi Ikuta, Pastor, Denison United Church of Christ, Cleveland, OH
Interfaith Prisoners of Conscience Project
17
Elementary School
Graduation
circa 1958
Age 15
Reverend Dr. Pedro J. Windsor, Lead Pastor, The Neighborhood Chapel
(Reformed Evangelical Church), Chicago
Reverend José Rosa, Pastor, First Congregational Church of Chicago
FCI Terre Haute
circa 2012
Age 69
Reverend Walter Coleman, Pastor, Adalberto United Methodist Church,
Chicago
Reverend Emma Lozano, Pastor, Adalberto United Methodist Church,
Chicago
Father Luis Barrios, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, New York City
Reverend Roger Zepernick, Christ & St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Philadelphia
Father Carlos Santos, Cristo y San Ambrosio Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, PA
Reverend Wilfredo De Jesús, Senior Pastor, NewLife Covenant Church and
Vice President of Social Justice, National Hispanic Christian Leadership
Conference, Chicago, IL
Reverend Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President of United
Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
Reverend M. Linda Jaramillo, Executive Minister of United Church of
Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
Reverend Edith Guffey, Associate General Minister of United Church of
Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
Reverend Stephen Sterner, Executive Minister of Local Church Ministries
of United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
Reverend Cally Rogers-Witte, Executive Minister of Wider Church Ministries of United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
Reverend Luis Cortés, Jr., Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia
Dated: January 26, 2014
18

Scholars for Oscar López Rivera - The Campaign to Free Oscar

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