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Alex Hundert Declines Bail, Refuses Conditions against Expressing Political Views

"Despite incarceration, my commitment to these struggles is only strengthened, as are our movements."

by Dawn Paley

Almost a month after having been thrown back in jail for giving a talk at Ryerson University, Alex Hundert declined bail yesterday because of the conditions that he would face were he to be released.

According to a release by his allies, if he were to have accepted bail yesterday, Hundert would have been faced with "additional conditions of non association with Harsha Walia, Dan Kellar, AW@L, SOAR, NOII, no planning/participating/planning public meetings or marches, and no expressing political views including in the media, amongst others."

But regardless of his ongoing incarceration, Hundert insists that his supporters need to continue organizing, and not focus on his plight.

"Too much attention has been paid to a small number of cases of repression, particularly my own, when people need to be focused on and fighting back against broader patterns of oppression that flow from the racist capitalist system propagated by the G20 states, their corporations, their militaries, and their police," he told an ally in a phone call from jail on October 11.

The additional conditions Hundert would have faced upon release would have been on top of the already restrictive conditions Hundert faced after his last release, which essentially amounted to house arrest.

Hundert was arrested at gunpoint on June 26, when an anti-gang police unit stormed into his home. In the following days, over 1,000 people were arrested as they spoke out and demonstrated against the G-20 in the city of Toronto. Hundreds have had their charges dropped, but Hundert together with 19 others organizers from the Ontario and Quebec region faces conspiracy charges. He was released on bail on July 16th, and re-arrested on September 17th after participating in a panel discussion at Ryerson University.

According to the Toronto Community Mobilization Network, the Ontario Provincial Police claimed the panel discussion counted as a 'public demonstration', and was a violation of Hundert's 'no public demonstration' bail condition.

"He was speaking at a panel discussion in a university classroom alongside professors, which is clearly not a public demonstration," said Mohan Mishra, an organizer with No One Is Illegal Toronto in a statement. "This is yet another attempt to silence Alex, and is a strong indication of the police's intent to criminalize ideas, dissent, and effective community organizing.”

Cross Canada demonstrations in solidarity with Alex Hundert were planned for yesterday and today. And though he remains behind bars, his courageous voice will continue to resonate.

"The most important thing that I can say today, is that the issues which motivated people to organize against the G20 – poverty, migrant justice, indigenous sovereignty, the environment, queer liberation, ableism, patriarchy, and violence against women – all continue to have tremendous impacts on people’s daily lives," Hundert told an ally in a phone call from jail on October 11. "Despite incarceration, my commitment to these struggles is only strengthened, as are our movements."

Click here for information on sending a letter to Alex. Click here to take a sneak peek at the Certain Days 2011 Calendar.