Free Political Prisoners in Los Angeles

As residents of Los Angeles, human rights organizers and representatives of organizations from around the globe, we demand:

1. That all charges against Deborah Burton be immediately dropped.
2. A thorough investigation and the rescinding of the faulty evidence presented by Lt. Paulson which eventually led to the charges filed against Deborah Burton, and
3. An end to the aggressive prosecution of human rights defenders.

Organizations across Los Angeles have come together to defend and promote interconnected human rights in our communities. Human rights violations occur on a daily basis. Protest has been at the core of all struggles for Justice. Yet, the assault on political dissent and protest remains an ongoing tactic of the powerful. The City of Los Angeles has a long history of heavy-handedness and violence against people organizing for basic human rights.

Lame-duck City Attorney Carmen Trutanich's malicious prosecution of Deborah Burton--a downtown resident --is part of an ongoing campaign to squash protest and political dissent in Los Angeles.

Deborah Burton's Case:

Deborah, a longtime Los Angeles Communtiy Action Network (LACAN) member and organizer, has been unjustly charged with three counts of assault for alleged actions during a peaceful protest in April 2011. She was not charged until August 2012, 14 months later, and public records show that in the interim months LAPD and the Central City East Association (CCEA) actively lobbied the City Attorney to criminally charge LA CAN members involved in a monthly demonstration of the CCEA’s “Skid Row Walk.”

In one email in April 2011, CCEA associate-- Estela Lopez-- assures her colleagues that the City Attorney informed her that “they would explore all legal options to protect us and allow us to conduct our walk without interference from LA CAN.” In another email sent on June 1, 2011 — the evening of the purported assault — Ms. Lopez confirms they were able to complete their walk “as planned” and never mentions being assaulted or injured by Debora or anyone else from LA CAN.. In a July 2011 email from LAPD’s Lieutenant Paulson, Ms. Lopez tells the City Attorney that she needs information about the filing and documentation of cases related to the public safety walk because “This is going to be an ongoing problem until it gets too costly for them (LA CAN)..”

The case against Deborah Burton is nothing more than a conspiracy, abuse of power, waste of precious resources and the continued targeting of human rights organizers.

Free Deborah Burton and All Political Prisoners!

Los Angeles Human Rights Collective:

Youth Justice Coalition- http://www.youth4justice.org/
Immigrant Youth Coalition- http://theiyc.org/
Dream Team LA-http://dreamteamla.org/
Union de Vecinos- http://www.uniondevecinos.net/
Los Angeles Community Action Network- http://cangress.org/
Los Angeles Anti Eviction Campaign- https://www.facebook.com/laantieviction
IDEPSCA- http://idepsca.org/daylabor
Stop LAPD Spying- http://stoplapdspying.org/
Los Angeles Human Right to Housing Collective-http://lahumanrighttohousing.blogspot.com/
Labor/Community Strategy Center-http://www.thestrategycenter.org/

All POWER 2 The Peaceful-