NEWS ALERT: For Immediate Release Protest/Press availability: - TopicsExpress

NEWS ALERT: For Immediate Release Protest/Press availability: 9 AM, Tuesday, January 21 Cook County Criminal Courthouse, 2650 S. California, Chicago NATO protest organizers condemn lock-out of public from criminal trial Defendants wildly inflated terrorism charges are part of broader effort to dirty up dissent in U.S., say activists. CHICAGO: Organizers of Chicagos May 2012 NATO summit protests will protest sweeping court rules that substantially hinder public access to the publicly-funded, high-profile criminal trail of the NATO 3, Brent Betterly, Brian Jacob Church and Jared Chase. The protest and press availability will be held at 9AM on Tuesday, January 21 -- the day the defendants criminal trial begins -- in front of the Cook County Criminal Courthouse, 2650 S. California, in Chicago. Law enforcement and court officials are forcing every member of the public seeking to observe the NATO 3 trial to ‘pre-register’, produce a government-issued ID, and submit to a criminal background check. To guarantee a seat in the courtroom, observers must pre-register AGAIN each day prior to the day they wish to attend court. These draconian rules, say activists, are anathema in a democratic nation committed constitutionally to public trials. The judge in the case has also issued a ‘decorum’ order so sweeping that one could conceivably be ejected from the courtroom and cited for criminal contempt for raising an eyebrow or shaking ones head at testimony -- or even smiling at a defendant. The order also bans political buttons, t-shirts, armbands and perhaps even particular colors should they be deemed by court officials to represent a partisan political statement. Members of the public who exit the courtroom at any time, including to use the bathroom, will not be readmitted unless the court recesses. These court rules, say activists, function essentially to create the conditions for a secret trial In a case where public scrutiny is critical given the prosecutions reliance on sweeping police spying and undercover police incitement. Activists assert cops have manufactured a false terrorism case to justify the millions spent on security to create a militarized police presence during the NATO summit. The prosecution, they argue, is part of a broad campaign to derail the Occupy movement and other forms of public opposition to government policy. Defense attorneys have described the case as based on “idle chatter, laced with bravado and abetted, encouraged and egged on by the undercover police agents.” Please note, this press release is not an official communication from the NATO 3 Defense Committee, who can be contacted directly via their website: freethenato3.wordpress # # #