Funds Needed for Jaan Laaman Defense

The Partisan Defense Committee received a letter dated November 27 from Jaan Laaman, one of the Ohio 7 class-war prisoners. Laaman wrote: “This year I came across some profound new evidence and I now have a possibility of reopening and challenging my entire [Massachusetts] conviction and sentence. I have always maintained my innocence in this case and now I may finally be able to prove it.”

The Ohio 7 were leftist activists convicted for their role in a radical group that took credit for bank “expropriations” and bombings in the 1970s and ’80s against symbols of U.S. imperialism and apartheid South Africa. These actions were not crimes from the standpoint of the working class. Laaman—who has been imprisoned for over 21 years—and his Ohio 7 comrades should never have spent a day in jail! Funds are urgently needed to hire legal defense to pursue Laaman’s appeal. On December 29, the PDC sent $500 toward this effort. We urge our readers to help support the fight for Laaman’s freedom. Checks should be made out to the “Jaan Laaman Legal Freedom Fund” and sent to: Jaan Laaman Legal Freedom Fund, P.O. Box 681, East Boston, MA 02128.

You may read about Jaan Laaman’s case and other class-war prisoners in the online magazine he contributes to: www.4strugglemag.org. Or write to 4strugglemag, 2035 St. Laurent Boulevard, Montreal, Quebec, H2X 2T3 Canada.