Red Emma’s

"Since March 8th, Chelsea Manning has been incarcerated at the William Q. Truesdale Adult Detention Center after refusing to testify before a grand jury convened for unknown reasons, but likely related "to her 2010 disclosures of information about the nature of asymmetric warfare to the public." Grand juries are run behind closed doors by prosecutors without a judge or defense attorney present, giving prosecutors near limitess discretion and frequently "used historically to oppress and frighten targeted groups, in particular, people perceived as dissidents and activists" by gathering information on targeted political groups and creating fear through the suggestion that "some members of a political community may be secretly cooperating with the government."Despite not being charged with or even accused of any crime, Chelsea could continue to be held for up to 18 months for her principled refusal to testify. Even worse, Chelsea has been held in solidarity confinement for the entirety of her stay, which means that she has not been permitted to set foot outdoors since being incarcerated, is confined to her cell for all but two hours a day, and is forbidden access to books or reading materials. While commonplace in the U.S. prison system, Chelsea's prolonged period of solidarity confinement and others like it are considered by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture to be "cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment" potentially even constituting torture. Research has shown that such prolonged periods of solitary confinement can have severe, potentially permanent negative psychology effects. During Chelsea's previous incarceration, letters from friends and supporters were essential to her mental health and wellbeing, and will not only be invaluable once again during this period of incarceration, but one of her only forms of friendly human contact. Please see https://xychelsea.is for more information on Chelsea's incarceration and to donate to her legal defense."More about the Vaughn prison uprising and the solidarity and support effort:https://vaughn17support.org/https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/02/vaughn-prison-hostage-attica-uprising/