Federal Prison in Ohio -- FCI Elkton

I'm writing you to request your help in the fight against the censorship in this prison (FCI Elkton - a federal prison located in the imperialist-conquered land called Ohio). A staff member has removed numerous periodicals from the leisure library (the Advocate, A&U, Burn, Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, FAMM Gram newsletter, Fearless Mountain, Forest Sangha Newsletter, Freedom, Gym, Modern Heros, Out, the People, Snow Lion, Tibet News, Tibet Press Watch, Tibetan Bulletin). I work as a librarian in here so I can testify that all these were donated by the inmates, already came through censors in the mail room, were all reasonably up to date, and were requested frequently. I have already started the remedy process (BP-8.5) but so far the only action was the staff removing all the donated periodicals from the library leaving but 14 for the prison of more than 2000 persons. ... Please assist me in any way you can, but I specifically ask for the letters to be written to the following person with the demands to end the censorship. -a federal prisoner in Ohio, July 2002

People to send protest letters to:

David M Rardin, Director
Northeast Regional Office
US Custom House - 7th Floor
Second & Chestnut Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19106

RL Morrison, Warden
FCI Elkton
P.O. Box 89
Elkton, OH 44415

Philip Geistfeld, Education Supervisor
FCI Elkton
P.O. Box 89
Elkton, OH 44415

A friend of MIM adds: MIM Notes has long reported on the draconian censorship in united snakes prisons. This is not because Maoists are Libertarians who argue for the principal of freedom of speech; it is because we see that censorship in Amerikkka - imperialist censorship - is perpetuated as part of the militarist campaign against the oppressed. This sort of censorship assists the imperialists in covering up everything from the number of victims killed during the bombings in Afghanistan, to the brutal wrath of Amerikan police, to denial of basic needs in prisons, to the collusion of banks and corporations in billion dollar robberies. Censorship is used by the imperialists to thwart revolutionary organizing. This is the reason that it must be fought fiercely.

This writer does not know about the content of all of the magazines listed above - at least Tibet Press Watch and Tibetan News are reactionary magazines. In this case, it looks those mentioned above. In addition the censorship policy of the prison should be fought because it is the policy that can be used against revolutionary newsletters. MIM Notes has been censored at this prison in the past, though it is not listed in the prisoner's letter. Send letters to the above prisoncrats explaining your opposition to the prison's censorship practice and asking for legal justification for it. On top of that, prisoners, work with MIM to get genuine revolutionary lit into the prison and supporters on the outside, send money to help make that happen.