Since 2002, Greek revolutionary and activist Dimitris Koufontinas has been in prison for his role in the Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N). Labelled a “terrorist” by the Greek government, Koufontinas began a hunger strike on Jan. 8, 2021, and has been refusing water since Feb. 22, in protest of his draconian treatment in prison. With his health rapidly deteriorating, time is running out for Koufontinas, but there is a growing international effort to demand that his life be spared. In this urgent episode of “Rattling the Bars,” Eddie Conway speaks with Demosthenes Papathatos, a political organizer in Greece, about Koufontinas’ condition.

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Until recently, the horrifyingly unjust reality of America’s mass incarceration system has not been a central concern in popular political discourse. In the past few years, however, more people have learned about the brutality and inhumanity of mass incarceration as artists, activists, documentarians, and elected officials have called attention to the broken U.S. criminal justice system—and its disproportionate harm to Black and Brown people. But is this increased awareness of the problem translating to increased efforts to address it?

While officials like Maryland's Gov. Larry Hogan say they're reducing incarceration rates and improving prison conditions, the data tells a different story. For instance, the Justice Policy Institute's report "Rethinking Approaches to Over Incarceration of Black Young Adults in Maryland" shows that Maryland incarcerates Black people at more than twice the national rate and leads the country in incarcerating young Black men. In this episode of "Rattling the Bars," Eddie Conway speaks with Justice Policy Institute's Marc Schindler and returning citizen Shasta Deen about how the repercussions of slavery are still felt in Maryland's justice system.

Read the transcript of this video: https://therealnews.com/black-mass-incarceration-in-the-so-called-free-state

Read the Justice Policy Institute report: http://www.justicepolicy.org/research/12702?utm_source=%2fMarylandYoungAdult

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Flint Taylor and Jeff Haas, co-founders of the People’s Law Office in Chicago, were the lead lawyers in the landmark case that exposed the FBI’s involvement in the assassination of Black Panthers Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. While that case was settled nearly 40 years ago, newly revealed documents show that the conspiracy to murder Hampton and cover up evidence of government involvement goes deeper than most ever imagined. In this special episode of “Rattling the Bars,” Eddie Conway talks with Taylor and Haas about their decades-long battle for the truth, the government’s continued surveillance and persecution of dissenters, and the ongoing fight for justice and accountability.

Read the transcript for this video: https://therealnews.com/the-government-murdered-fred-hampton-will-it-ever-be-held-accountable

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Public health experts and advocates continue to shine a light on the horrifying statistics of COVID-19 infections within the prison-industrial complex. Those same experts, moreover, have shown that outbreaks in prisons and jails spread quickly and violently to communities outside prison walls. And yet, this humanitarian and public health crisis is still largely going unaddressed. In this week's episode of Rattling the Bars, Eddie Conway talks with Dr. Lauren Brinkley-Rubenstein, assistant professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a core faculty member of the UNC Center for Health Equity Research, and one of the co-founders of the COVID Prison Project.

Visit the COVID Prison Project: https://covidprisonproject.com/

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Eddie Conway, former Lieutenant of Security for the Baltimore Black Panther Party, was locked up on dubious charges and held as a political prisoner for over 40 years. Conway is part of a generation of Black radicals and revolutionaries who were imprisoned, killed, or otherwise wiped off the political map in the decades of organized reaction following the radical 60s. But their revolutionary struggle, spirit, and teachings did not disappear.

In 1980, Conway participated in and helped organize a prisoners’ educational outreach program called “Say Their Own Word,” where thinkers and scholars came to Maryland Penitentiary and spoke about topics like impending U.S. fascism, the prison-industrial complex, capitalism, increasing surveillance, and many other issues that have become even more pressing today. These speakers included Amiri Baraka, Askia Muhammad, Bruce Franklin, Nijole Benokraitis, and Charlie Cobb. As part of an ongoing series, TRNN will be speaking with these individuals about their predictions in 1980 and how they resonate today. In this installment of the series, former Rattling the Bars producer Ericka Blount interviews Conway, who is now a free man and TRNN Executive Producer.

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In 1980, Eddie Conway participated in and helped organize a prisoners’ educational outreach program called “To Say Their Own Words,” where thinkers and scholars came to Maryland Penitentiary and spoke about topics like impending U.S. fascism, the prison-industrial complex, capitalism, increased surveillance, and many other issues that have become even more pressing today. These speakers included Amiri Baraka, Askia Muhammad, Bruce Franklin, Nijole Benokraitis, and Charlie Cobb.

As part of an ongoing series for TRNN’s Rattling the Bars, Eddie Conway speaks with these individuals about their predictions in 1980 and how they resonate today. This interview is with longtime civil rights activist, journalist, and author of “This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed,” Charlie Cobb.

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At 84 years old, Sundiata Acoli has been in prison for 48 years, and has been denied parole six times. Last December, he was diagnosed with COVID-19. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, Rev. Lukata Mjumbe of the Sundiata Acoli Freedom Campaign joins Eddie Conway to discuss Acoli's life as an organizer, mathematician, artist, and poet; the push by his friends and family, along with faith leaders, to secure his release; and the challenges aging prisoners face to their health and well-being.

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