Coalition of Civil Rights Groups and Activists to Hold Press Conference Outside U.S. Penitentiary in Tucson to Demand Transfer and Exoneration of Civil Rights Icon Imam Jamil Al-Amin (formerly known as H. Rap Brown)
On Sunday, August 15th, a coalition of local and national civil rights groups and human rights organizations plan to hold a press conference outside of the Tucson Federal Courthouse to call for the federal government to provide proper medical treatment to Imam Jamil Al-Amin (formerly known as H. Rap Brown) and transfer the civil rights leader back to the custody of the State of Georgia so that he can be exonerated and freed nearly twenty years after his wrongful conviction for a crime that another man has repeatedly admitted to committing.
In Georgia, Imam Jamil will be able to directly participate in the ongoing review of his conviction and help prove his innocence to the newly elected Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. The Conviction Integrity Unit, a division under the District Attorney’s office, has the authority to exonerate Imam Jamil.
Mass Liberation, Black Lives Matter (BLM) Phoenix Metro, The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ), Students for Imam Jamil and 13 other local, national, community, and student social justice organizations, plan to host the Free Imam Jamil Press Conference and Protest.
Scheduled speakers include attorney and son of Imam Jamil, Kairi Al-Amin, former NBA Player & Activist Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Rapper & Influencer Tone Trump, Actor & Activist Omar Regan, Imam & Activist Khalid Griggs, and other civil rights advocates. The event is scheduled to include virtual statements from Political Activist & Intellectual Dr. Cornel West, National Civil Rights Attorney and Texas Attorney General Candidate Lee Merritt, Author & Educator Ilyasah Shabazz (Daughter of Malcom X), and Imam & Activists Omar Suleiman and Zaid Shakir.
What: Press Conference & Protest urging USP Tucson to transfer Imam Jamil to Georgia and for the Fulton County District Attorney to exonerate him
When: Sunday, August 15th, 5-7pm MST
Where: Tucson Federal Courthouse – Outside of Evo A Deconcini US Courthouse, 405 W Congress St, Tucson, AZ 85701
In a statement, Political Activist & Intellectual Dr. Cornel West said:
“I am blessed to give my strong words of solidarity for my dear brother Imam Jamil, known to many of us early on as the great H. Rap Brown. It is a travesty and a tragedy that his work and his witness is not known to the world in terms of the deep love inside of his soul for not just poor people, but oppressed people around the world.”
In a statement, Mass Liberation Executive Director Lola N’sangou said:
“We at Mass Liberation Arizona…stand in solidarity with the national movement calling for Imam Jamil Al-Amin’s freedom immediately. On August 15, 2021, along with local and national partners, we will shine light on the cruel and unusual treatment of Imam Al-Amin and the manifest injustice of holding him in a federal prison when he is a state prisoner, neglecting his medical needs and ignoring the confession of another man. We demand Imam Al-Amin be transferred back to Atlanta, Georgia immediately so the false charges against him can be investigated and finally dropped, as they should have been 21 years ago. Imam Jamil Al-Amin is another Black political prisoner who has been targeted by the U.S. government in retaliation for his revolutionary work. Mass Liberation AZ calls for his release and the freedom of all political prisoners.”
In a statement, CAIR-Arizona Executive Director Azza Abuseif said:
“Our justice system is not only broken but inhumane. Two decades later, Imam Jamil Al-Amin is still wrongfully imprisoned despite multiple confessions. There is no room for debate on who is deserving of basic dignity and human rights. It is disgusting to see the neglect that has caused a 77-year-old man to go blind.”
In a statement, Students for Imam Jamil President Wasiq Javed said:
“Our government has intentionally erased the legacy of those who challenged the status quo. That is why 21 years later, there is a generational gap between our true freedom fighters and young activists today. We cannot combat systemic injustice without seeking justice for those who were impacted by it. Imam Jamil represents the epitome of how the U.S. government utilizes divide and conquer tactics to ensure the next generation cannot unite behind a revolutionary.”