Collective note: This post is not intended as an endorsement of past controversies involving Ojore Lutalo, but rather as a support message to those interested in helping.

Long-time New Afrikan Anarchist Prisoner of War, Ojore N. Lutalo is set to max out after 26 years of imprisonment at New Jersey State Prison.

In other words, the department of correctional services is about to reach their deadline for the maximum amount of time they can legally hold Ojore Lutalo under the sentence mandated by the justice system (nevermind the fact that as a Black Liberation Army Prisoner of War he should not have been sentenced under a criminal court at all!).

While his exact release date is still not finalized, it will most likely be late November or early December. The NJ DOC website has his max-out date as December 25th. Ojore, with the help of a lawyer, is in the process of working to get his good time/work credits restored, a result of his victory in the NJ Superior Court in 2007, which overturned a charge the prison convicted him of in 2005. This charge/conviction took away around a year of good time/work credits. This process is still ongoing and we will update people with any changes to his max-out date.

In the meantime, the Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) is initiating a fundraising drive to support Ojore, once he is released, in order for him to transition back to the streets. Money is needed to help Ojore secure housing, food and clothing. This financial assistance will allow Ojore to make the transition more smoothly, knowing that money and housing isn’t an immediate pressing matter, giving him the needed time to readjust to the outside world he hasn’t seen since 1982.

We are calling for a National Weekend of Fundraising Events for Ojore Lutalo to occur on the weekend of November 7th 2008. Now’s a great opportunity to show how our movements support our own!

As many former prisoners and their supporters know, coming back home after a doing a long stretch in prison is difficult and without a support base it will be even more difficult. The ABCF, anarchists and many PP/POW activists who have maintained contact and supported Ojore over the years, have benefited immensely from the example that he’s set as what it means to be a revolutionary. His untiring advice/criticism to us has helped many of us and our organizations grow politically and deepen, not only our commitment to the struggle to free political prisoners and prisoners of war, but to that of building a revolutionary movement

It’s our revolutionary duty ensure Ojore has all the support he needs when hits the streets!

We encourage all activists to organize fundraisers or donate whatever they can towards Ojore’s release fund.

All funds, by check or money order, payable to TIM FASNACHT, can be sent to:

Philadelphia ABCF
P.O Box 42129
Philadelphia, Pa 19101

Thank you for your support of our comrade Ojore!

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