Dan Kellar (Dan Kellar)
Kitchener
Member since July 2009
Toronto Media Co-op
Local Independent News
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Accused G20 "Maiden of Mayhem" wins bail challenge.
On Tuesday August 9th 2011 in provincial court in Toronto, a judge agreed to a bail variation for accused G20 "Maiden of Mayhem" Kelly Pflug Back, which replaces her house arrest with a ten o'clock curfew and allows her to have unrestricted contact with her fiancé Julian Ichim on the condition that he sever his ties with anti-poverty group SOS.
These changes to her bail condition come after a year-long effort by her lawyer, Stephen Gehl, and community groups lobbying against the injustice of giving her some of the harshest conditions received by people arrested at the G20. Protests such as the one on Monday August 5th, where about 16 people, many who worked with her, and others such as members of Hamilton Steelworkers local 1005, had a rally that ended up at the crown attorneys office in Guelph with letters for the attorney general demanding that conditions that keep her apart from loved ones and her community be removed, have been happening all year in cities such as Guelph, Kitchener/Waterloo and Victoria BC.
Although in some ways this is a significant victory for the movement and Kelly’s sanity, the fight is not over. Kelly is still not allowed to associate with anyone who is know to have ties to SOS, whose facebook group has about 195 members, nor is she permitted to attend any public demonstration which could include something as simple as the Sunday servings that SOS provides. The fact that her association with her fiancé, Julian Ichim, rests on him severing his ties to SOS shows that the state is not interested in Kelly's guilt or innocence as much as they are dismantling anti-poverty groups such as SOS.
When asked about severing ties with SOS, Ichim stated: "clearly this demonstrates that the issue is not about whether or not Kelly is guilty or innocent of mischief at g20, rather it is about whether or not Kelly is an effective voice for the anti-poverty community, a crime that in their eyes is more heinous then all the smashed windows. I may be forced to quit SOS, but I can't be forced to quit activism, Guelph hasn't heard the last from us yet."
Those interested in supporting Kelly Pflug Back can contact the Kelly Pflug Back support committee @ 226 789 7038
Topics: Solidarity
About the poster
Dan Kellar (Dan Kellar)
Kitchener
Member since July 2009
373 words
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