2013-08-05 "Activists Lock Down at State Building, Call for Brown, CDCR to Negotiate with Prison Hunger Strikers"

Statewide Prisoner Hunger Strike to Stop Torture, Long-Term Isolation & Indefinite Solitary Confinement in Prisons [link]

info from "Californians United for a Responsible Budget":
RIGHT NOW: direct action in support of hunger strike
At 8:00am this morning, protestors locked themselves to the doors of the Oakland State Building at 1515 Clay St.
In solidarity with the California Prisoner Hunger Strike, they're calling for Governor Brown and the CDCR to enter honest negotiations to meet the hunger strikers 5 demands.
Please go to [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Prisoner-Hunger-Strike-Solidarity/117053298383319] and share photos and the press release far and wide - we may not all be able to take action like this today, but we can all help amplify it around the world.
This is the 29th day of the hunger strike. It's time for all of us to step it up.


2013-08-05 "Activists Lock Down at State Building, Call for Brown, CDCR to Negotiate with Prison Hunger Strikers"
by "prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity":

The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition has learned that protestors locked themselves to the doors of the State Building on Clay St. in Oakland just minutes ago. Protesters are calling for Governor Brown and the CDCR to enter into honest negotiations with prisoners on hunger strike throughout California. Today marks the 29th day of the prisoners’ hunger strike.
In a statement released to local media, protesters said:
[begin excerpt]
As Governor Brown continues to silently endorse the torture of California prisoners, with the death of hunger striker Billy “Guerro” Sell, and in the face of ongoing retaliation against prisoners by the CDCR, we join the hunger strikers on this 29th day of their peaceful protest to meet their 5 demands.
Solitary confinement is widely and internationally recognized as torture. The hunger strikers and their family members are making a powerful and inspiring stand for dignity in the face of this inhumane treatment. We stand with them. Governor Brown and the CDCR, negotiate immediately to meet the 5 demands!!!
[end excerpt]
Since the beginning of the strike, there have been almost daily actions around California, US, and in many other countries in support. Over 80,000 people have signed petitions to the CDCR and the Governor. Medical professionals, human rights organizations, students, unions, lawyers, religious leaders, prisoners and their family members have all spoken to the urgency of meeting the hunger strikers’ demands.
A recent statement by the Short Corridor Collective at Pelican Bay State Prison states, “We are being tortured each day by state officials (Governor Brown, his appointee CDCR Secretary Beard, and all his underlings). Increased retaliation has been perpetuated upon defenseless and starving prisoners who only seek what any human being strives for—humane treatment, dignity, equality, and justice for our families, loved ones, and ourselves. These are the fundamental rights of all people, including those incarcerated by the state.”
As people on strike record losing over 30 pounds, communications from inside indicate that people are being punished through denial of necessary medication, further isolation, and cruel treatment like blowing cold air into freezing cells.