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Still Stuck in the U.S.A.

From: Out Of Time 2/91

The U.S. department of in-justice denied repatriation to Italy for Silvia Baraldini. Silvia is a political prisoner, presently incarcerated in federal prison in Marianna Florida, serving a forty-three year sentence. Charged in 1982 with five acts, she was convicted on only two - an attempted armored car robbery in 1980 that never took place and conspiracy in the 1979 escape from prison of Black Revolutionary Assata Shakur. No one was hurt in either act and Silvia had no prior record in any court. In fact, the evidence against her was flimsy, based on the word of a single informer who testified against fifteen persons.

Under the terms of an International Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (Strasbourg Convention) signed by the u.s. and Italy among other nations, Silvia was legally eligible for transfer to an Italian prison. There are also humanitarian and medical reasons for her repatriation. The Italian Prime Minister and many Italian Parliamentarians had personally asked the Bush administration for Silvia's return: thousands of petitions and letters were sent from Italy and this country to the u.s. attorney general's office.

The Release Silvia! Committee in the u.s. and the committee in Italy are going to continue their campaign to pressure the government to apply the Strasbourg Convention in a uniform manner (other convicted persons from Italy have recently been repatriated). The plan is a year long campaign culminating December 1991 when the original decision is supposedly reviewed. We'll keep everyone up to date in future newsletters and/or mailings. If you want more info or want to work with us please write to Release Silvia! Box 30 3543 18 St. San Francisco, CA 94110

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