originally published by: AFRIK.COM
19th February 2010

Many, like Victor Toro from Chile, see Abu-Jamal’s legal battles as symbolizing struggles of oppressed people worldwide. “For us, Mumia is our Mandela. He is a political prisoner and a revolutionary,” said Toro, who was expelled from Chile in 1976 due to his activism against the notorious dictator Augusto Pinochet – whose U.S.-backed regime tortured Toro and his wife.

“In America there is racism and violence against people of color,” Toro said recently during a Philadelphia event for Abu-Jamal, the former radio reporter and Black Panther Party (BPP) member from 1968 to 1970 during his mid-teenage years.

Abu-Jamal, despite confinement in a death row isolation cell for over twenty-five years, remains prolific publishing six acclaimed books and thousands of perceptive commentaries.

Many radio stations worldwide regularly broadcast Abu-Jamal’s commentaries on current events. Interestingly, his books and commentaries rarely reference his case where he’s proclaimed innocence since his 1981 arrest.

Abu-Jamal holds ‘Honorary Citizen’ status in over 20 cities worldwide including Montreal and Paris. The European Parliament and South African labor unions support Abu-Jamal receiving a new trial as does Amnesty International.

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