Today my friend Jeremy Hammond was sentenced to 10 years in Federal Prison. His crime, exposing war crimes. Jeremy hacked into the website of strategic forecasting inc., a private global intelligence firm that contracts with the U.S. Government to provide foreign intelligence and other services. Jeremy released thousands of emails and documents from the stratfor servers, providing evidence that stratfor was working for various governments to track and monitor dissidents and activists.

Jeremy’s crimes were not violent, they were done in the spirit of civil disobedience, acting against the corporations and governments responsible for the murder and impoverishment of millions of people. Jeremy was not hacking for personal gain or glory, he was not doing it for the ‘lulz’. Jeremy was fighting for freedom, he was fighting for justice, he was fighting to preserve life and liberty which are the inalienable rights of all humanity. Jeremy did all of this not for himself, he took these actions because he could not stand to see the atrocities that were continuing to be commited by corporations and governments all over the world. He did this with the full knowledge that if here were caught he would serve many years in jail if caught.

http://freeanons.org/jeremy-hammond-sentenced-10-years/

I targeted law enforcement systems because of the racism and inequality with which the criminal law is enforced. I targeted the manufacturers and distributors of military and police equipment who profit from weaponry used to advance U.S. political and economic interests abroad and to repress people at home. I targeted information security firms because they work in secret to protect government and corporate interests at the expense of individual rights, undermining and discrediting activists, journalists and other truth seekers, and spreading disinformation. – Jeremy Hammond

Jeremy plead guilty to the charges of a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, as a condition of his plea bargain he will not be charged with any other crimes. Violation of the CFAA carries a maximum 10 year sentence, which is what Jeremy has received. In comparison, the stubenville rapists received sentences of 1 and 2 years each, for a conviction of rape. With this disproportionate sentence, the US Government is sending a very clear message, “if you commit acts of civil disobedience, if you are a whistleblower, we will put you in jail as long as we possibly can.”

As I heard the news of Jeremy’s sentencing today I could not decide whether I wanted to cry or scream. I have had the pleasure of knowing Jeremy for over 8 years. Jeremy has, in that time, continually inspired me with his dedication, kindness and bravery. Jeremy has never let police repression silence him, he has never let arrests and jail time stop him. Jeremy is not one to back down, and I do not expect this situation to be any different. They may have locked Jeremy away for the next decade, but they have not silenced his spirit, and they will never silence his voice.

Jeremy does not deserve the sentence that he has received. Judge loretta perska, hector monseguir and stratfor are guilty of crimes against humanity; they are complicit in mass murder and the unraveling of our liberties, they are responsible for stealing a decade of Jeremy’s life.

The US government may have jailed Jeremy Hammond and other freedom fighters like Chelsea Manning; but we are not intimidated by these actions, and we will not be silenced.

They are in there for us! We are out here for them! Support all political prisoners!

If you want to support Jeremy you can find out more at his website: http://freejeremy.net/

note: I have purposefully not capitalized the names of those guilty of this travesty of justice, as a sign of disrespect.