Later email from Aurora:
For those of us in NY, please check the numbers below to support the people still under arrest, many of them without having been charged with anything!
-----Original Message-----
From: Lei, I-Shien
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2004 9:54 PM
To: Jenkins, Tony
Subject: legal support
ACTION ALERT! Please Forward
SUPPORT ARRESTED RNC PROTESTERS!TAKE ACTION BY CALLING NOW!
Thousands of people have been arrested protesting the Republican National Convention in NYC. Many are being held at a temporary detention center @ Pier 57 under extremely unhealthy conditions & without apporoiate accesss to experiened lawyers. We're asking everyone to call and demand prisoners be immediately released or transfered to a safe and sanitary facility with access to National Lawyers Guild Attornneys.
Call the Police Commissioner at 646) 610-5410 or (646) 610-5000 and
Mayor Bloomberg at (212) 788-7418.
END HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS Medics treating people being released report chemical burns, allergic reactions, severe respiratory problems, skin infections, rashes, welts, wounds and cuts -- all caused by the grossly unsanitary conditions of Pier 57. Arrestees are being housed in a former bus garage, the floor covered in motor-oil and grease. With nowhere else to sit or sleep, people are laying in this toxic residue. People are coming out of jail with their skin and clothes covered in a thick black sludge.One person went into toxic shock from so much motor oil being absorbed through their skin.Many have no access to food, water, phones or lawyers.Prisoners also report the bathroom lacking toilet paper, toilet seats or stall doors.This morning, United for Peace and Justice organized a rally to protest these appalling conditions.
ACCESS TO APPROPRIATE LAWYERS As well as this medical crisis, please also call to demand that everyone have access to meet with experienced lawyers from the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) well before their arraignment. Arrestees participating in jail solidarity through not giving their names are not being allowed to meet with experienced lawyers. Public Defenders often have no experience with jail solidarity; these people need to be able to meet with NLG lawyers.
CALL NOW - PRESSURE POLITICIANS We're asking for your support by calling to demand that all arrestees be immediately released, or transferred to a cleaner, safer facility and Pier 57 be closed. This is especially crucial for arrestees with asthma, emphysema and other respiratory problems. Also, demand that all prisoners be able to meet with experienced attorenys from the National Lawyers Guild well before their arraignment, including those who have not given their names.
Demand Pier 57 be closed, and prisoners transferred! Demand access to experienced lawyers! Call:
The Police Commissioner: (646) 610-5410 or (646) 610-5000
Mayor Bloomberg: (212) 788-7418
Corrections Department: (212) 266-1000
The District Attorney: (212) 335-9000
The Court Administration: (212) 428-2500
JAIL SOLIDARITY If you are in NYC, you can help out by coming down to the jail to welcome protesters as they are being released.Most are being released from the Courthouse at 100 centre Street, or around the building at 125 White.Take the 4,5,6 or N,R trains to Canal.
UPDATES To follow some of the events around the RNC protests, check NYC Indymedia at http://nyc.indymedia.org/
FINANCIAL SUPPORT If you want to financially support the legal defense of people arrested during the RNC protests, you can contribute money through the following groups:
United for Peace and Justice (212) 868-5545, http://www.unitedforpeace.org. (Specify the donation is for legal defense.)
Anarchist People of Color Prisoner Defense Fund http://www.illegalvoices.org/apoc/
National Lawyers Guild http://www.nlg.org/contribute/contribute.htm
MEDICAL & LEGAL RESOURCES If you or someone you know has experienced medical problems from police misconduct during the RNC or from the conditions at detention facilities, call Medical Activists of NY at 1-888-744-7856.If you or someone you know has been arrested, you can call the National Lawyers Guild legal hotline at (212) 679-6018.
Thank you for your help!Pass this message on and distribute as widely as possible!
12:13:15 AM 
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