[1113] in peace2
Urgent Action Alert! SOA Watch Volunteer detained illegally. ACT
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Marc F Rios)
Wed Oct 10 12:21:11 2001
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 12:21:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: Marc F Rios <mrios@MIT.EDU>
To: <peace-list@mit.edu>
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.30L.0110101220310.8080-100000@buzzword-bingo.mit.edu>
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Important to read this email and contact the authorities.
-Marc
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 15:12:11 +0000
From: info@soaw.org
To: SOAWatch@topica.com
Subject: Urgent Action Alert! SOA Watch Volunteer detained illegally. ACT
NOW!
Urgent Action Alert! SOA Watch Volunteer detained illegally. ACT NOW!
Last night, at the start of an SOA Watch organizing tour, Hendrik Voss
of SOA Watch/NE and Eric LeCompte of the SOA Watch national office were
stopped at the Canadian border. After their car and belongings were
searched and their FBI files checked, they were denied entry into the
country. Coming back into the U.S. border crossing, Hendrik, a German
national, was detained by immigration officials. He is now in a county
jail awaiting transport to an INS detention facility in Seattle and
faces possible deportation. See below for a narrative account and more
details.
It is vitally important that we act immediately. Hendrik is one of
hundreds of immigrants being detained right now without having committed
any crime. We cannot allow this erosion of civil liberties to continue
unchecked. For two years, Hendrik has worked tirelessly as a full-time
volunteer for SOA Watch and SOA Watch NE. He is now being held as a
political prisoner for his work in solidarity with the people of Latin
America. Here's how you can help:
Contact:
German Consulate General
1960 Jackson Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
Tel.: (415) 775-1061
Fax: (415) 775-0187
email: gksf@pacbell.net
Call, e-mail, send a fax, or better yet do all three. Tell the consulate
that Hendrik Voss, a German citizen is being detained illegally and urge
them to render all available services to him. Spread the word broadly
and ask others to do the same. If you have any contacts in Germany,
calls from German citizens would be especially helpful. The consulate
opens for business soon. If we can flood their phone, fax and e-mail
lines we may be able to stop this. Watch the SOA Watch website
(http://www.soaw.org/home.html) for updates.
October 10th, 3:00 AM pt
Hendrik Voss, a German citizen and volunteer for SOA Watch/NE and former
volunteer for the SOA Watch national office, is in the custody of the US
Border Patrol tonight. Hendrik was traveling with Eric LeCompte, SOA
Watch Outreach Director, as the two were offering presentations on
Colombia and nonviolence trainings for SOA Watch groups in British
Colombia, Canada during the next few days. They were starting the first
leg of a West Coast tour today that included nonviolence trainings up
the coast from San Francisco to Victoria Island, Canada.
Upon entering Canadian immigration services at the Patterson station
north of Spokane, the two were detained. They had their car and all
belongings thoroughly searched jointly by Canadian immigrations official
and a US immigrations officer. Canadian and US immigration officials
spent a great deal of time looking through SOA Watch materials.
According to Canadian Immigration officials, Canadian Immigration has
access to the FBI database and were able to produce Eric's arrest record
and other information about him available in his FBI file. After being
detained for three hours of searching and interrogation they told Eric
he would not be admitted to Canada because of an arrest in 1995 where he
was protesting the fingerprinting of welfare recipients in Rochester,
New York. Eric was also told that part of the reason that he would not
be admitted to Canada is because they suspect that he would encourage
Canadians to protest. Eric was told that he should not return to Canada
at all in the future, and if he does he will be immediately arrested.
Hendrik was told by Canadian officials that he could not enter Canada
now because he didn't have enough money on him. If Hendrik would go get
more money he would be given entry into Canada.
Hendrik and Eric turned back and stopped at the US immigration office as
instructed. US immigration held Hendrik and Eric and took Hendrik in the
back for interrogation. Hendrik was interrogated by a US Border Patrol
Agent and US immigration official. During his interrogation the US
immigration officials went through Hendrik's journal. At one point, US
Border Patrol Agent, B.C. Rowley howled, "So you've been protesting the
World Trade Organization," and slammed the door to enclose Hendrik in
the interrogation room. After further interrogation behind closed doors,
officials emerged to let Eric know he was free to leave although they
would keep Hendrik in custody and seek to deport him. Currently, Hendrik
is being held in a county jail in Colville, Washington. According to
Hendrik, US Border Patrol Agents have been copying the contents of his
journal. He will transported to a Spokane Border Patrol agency early
Wednesday morning, October 10th. Then he will be moved to Seattle for
his hearing.
Eric spoke with Hendrik tonight and Hendrik is in good spirits. Hendrik
has maintained a sense of control and is not answering questions of the
immigration authority until he sees an immigration lawyer.
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