International Transport Workers Union calls for Mumia’s release

International Transport Workers Union General Secretary Stephen Cotton wrote a letter of support for “the release of Mumia Abu-Jamal” to Judge Lucretia Clemons of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County on March 27 in London.

Cotton’s letter read: “I am writing in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s petition for a new trial based on the discovery of previously undisclosed material relating to his trial in 1982. Alongside our affiliates National Mine Workers Union of South Africa (NUMSA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), the ITWU wishes to add its voice to the call for Abu-Jamal’s case to receive the fair hearing and true justice that has so far eluded him.

“The evidence found in 2018 indicates, at the very least, misconduct by the prosecution, and this discovery is on top of a damning assessment of the original trial by Amnesty International in 2000, whose report determined that “numerous aspects of this case clearly failed to meet minimum international standards safeguarding the fairness of legal proceedings. Amnesty International, therefore, believes that the interests of justice would best be served by the granting of a new trial to Mumia Abu-Jamal.”

“It is our collective and strongly held belief that the 2018 discovery shows the prosecution withheld significant material evidence and suggests it allowed racial bias to influence the jury selection. It is, therefore, crucial for the integrity of the Philadelphia County Court System that Mumia Abu-Jamal be granted a new trial, and we trust in your Honour’s own integrity and sense of justice that this historic wrong will be rectified.”

Widespread vigilance on Mumia’s case is being observed around the globe, while Judge Clemons’s decision stalls in indecision. Mumia was on death row until international outrage brought about a change in the sentence. 

U.S. political prisoner Abu-Jamal has suffered 42 years of racist imprisonment. In all that time, the courageous journalist known as “the voice of the voiceless” has never been silent. New letters of support from around the world flood the Philadelphia court – voices calling for Mumia’s freedom.