FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Zack de la Rocha To Address International Commission on Human Rights in
Geneva, Switzerland
Meeting with the Press:
Time: 1:00 PM
Place: Library, Salle de Presse II
Date: Tuesday, April 13, 1999
On April 12 in Geneva, Switzerland, Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against The
Machine will speak before a Full Session of the International Commission
of Human Rights of the United Nations on the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal and
the application of the death penalty in the United States.
Zack's appearance before the Commission comes in response to a request from
the International Educational Development, Inc./ Humanitarian Law Project,
in recognition of his longstanding public support for a new trial for the
Philadelphia journalist and activist, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been on
death row in Pennsylvania since his unjust conviction for the murder of a
Philadelphia policeman, Daniel Faulkner. The presiding judge in the case,
Albert Sabo, had already sentenced 26 defendants to death -- 24 of whom
were African-American.
Rage Against The Machine has organized and headlined two major benefit
concerts, with proceeds donated to the International Concerned Family And
Friends Of Mumia Abu-Jamal: on August 13, 1995 at the Capitol Ballroom in
Washington, D.C.; and on January 28, 1999 at the Continental Airlines Arena
in East Rutherford, N.J.
"Mumia Abu-Jamal was targeted in this case for political and racial
reasons," stated Zack de la Rocha. "Judge Sabo showed bias throughout both
the trial and the appeal. The prosecution falsified and suppressed
evidence that could have exonerated Mumia. Blacks were illegally excluded
from the jury, there was police intimidation of witnesses, and the
prosecution coerced witnesses into providing perjured testimony."
"The U.S. has made a business out of violating the human rights of the
world community," added Zack. "A crime is a crime regardless of the tools
used in the trade, whether it's a Stealth bomber over Belgrade or a sham
trial and a syringe in Philadelphia. Both murder innocent civilians, both
are premeditated, and both are gross violations of international law."