Making Prisoners’ Justice Day international

Since starting in Bath, Ontario, Canada in 1975, Prisoner’s Justice Day has become recognized around the world.

Making Prisoners’ Justice Day international

Post image source

Ten Days of Prisoner Justice History: Day 10

Since starting in Bath, Ontario, Canada in 1975, Prisoner’s Justice Day has become recognized around the world.

Depicting the faces of Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof, this T-shirt shows support for the Red Army Faction (RAF), or Baader-Meinhof Gang – a militant leftwing terror group formed in 1970, West Germany; they fought for communism, anti-imperialism, and used violent means to promote their political goals and beliefs. Translated from German, the bottom portion of the shirt states: “Solidarity with the R.A.F.”
Ken Lawrence collection, 1940-2010, HCLA 6312, Special Collections Library, University Libraries, Pennsylvania State University

A group of imprisoned people on hunger strike in France in 1983 are credited with proposing that Prisoner’s Justice Day go global, in a statement broadcasted by Paris radio station Frequence-Libre (Lilley 2015):

Why not have on August 10 an international day of solidarity with our imprisoned brothers and sisters,
For here or elsewhere, prison kills,
Whether it be Nalon in Ontario, Bader or Meinhoff in West Germany, Claude or Ivan in Switzerland, Bobby Sands in Ireland, Mirval, Haadjadj, Onno, Youssef or so many others in France,
Whether they are serving 53 years like Alexandre Cotte or 16 years like Youssef,
Whether they are considered political or common prisoners,
PRISON KILLS!
Prisoners Justice Day artwork in commemoration of Edward Nalon and Robert Landers May. A muscular figure is behind bars in the centre, reading a book.
Artwork by Cyril, featured in the 2013 John Howard Society of Manitoba, Inc. Prisoners’ Justice Day newsletter

August 10 is now  “International Prisoner’s Justice Day”, with imprisoned people’s actions and outside solidarity events held every year in countries such as Kenya, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, France, England, and the USA.

Source

Lilley, PJ. 2015. Prisoner’s Justice Day: A Retrospective Montage. Radical Criminology, No. 4.