Death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal made honorary citizen of Paris [FRANCE ALERT]

Yahoo Singapore ^ | October 5, 2003 | nwrep

[nwrep]

US death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal honorary citizen of Paris by the Mayor of Paris, above

Death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal made honorary citizen of Paris

Sunday October 5, 1:49 AM

The city of Paris made an honorary citizen of celebrated US death row inmate and black activist Mumia Abu-Jamal, sentenced to die for the 1981 murder of a white Philadelphia policeman.

It is the first time Paris has bestowed the honor since Pablo Picasso was made honorary citizen in 1971, Socialist mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe told an audience of 200 people, taking the occasion to attack the "barbarity" of the death penalty.

Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther civil rights activist and journalist who has maintained his innocence, had his death sentence overturned in December of 2001 but that decision is currently on appeal.

In attacking the "barbarity called the death penalty," the mayor said "as long as there is a place on this planet where one can be killed in the name of the community, we haven't finished our work."

Raising his fist in a sign of solidarity, Delanoe then shouted "Mumia is a Parisian!" as the crowd of mostly-leftist activists cheered and applauded.

Black activist Angela Davis, a former member of the Black Panthers and the Communist Party, hailed the "profound sense of humanity" of Abu-Jamal, attacking American "unilateralism" and racist attacks against immigrants.

The movement to free Abu-Jamal "takes on a new sense in face of American unilateralism, the aggression against the Iraqi people and the racist attacks against immigrants which can only further gnaw away at the vestiges of democracy in the United States," Davis, a professor at the University of California in Santa Cruz, said.

Abu-Jamal, sentenced to death 21 years ago for the murder of Daniel Faulkner, has always insisted he was innocent, and scores of movements and organizations have sprung up around the world in his defense.

His opponents view him as an unrepentant murderer.

His case has provoked particularly vivid debate in France, which abolished the death penalty in 1981. French school children are required to study the case as part of their education.

[nwrep]

ping

[breakem]

stop the world, I want to get off

[browardchad]

Dry heaves.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

FRY MUMIA.!

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[Bon mots]

Can't we execute that Mumia vermin already? Angela Davis is still alive? What an idiot.

[dighton]

Raising his fist in a sign of solidarity, Delanoe then shouted "Mumia is a Parisian!"

Paris can have him, preferably dead.

Justice For Police Officer Daniel Faulkner

[breakem]

Didn't this guy get a retrial or something a few months ago. Don't they have to have another hearing to execute him. Don't know the latest. He'll die of old age first and they'll name a HS in Philly after him.

[glock rocks]

[SouthernFreebird]

Lets send them the bill for housing this b*stard.

[doug from upland]

I thought this had been one a year ago.

[Mo1]

Is France on a quest to see just how many American's they can piss off??

[wardaddy]

Our civilization shall merit it's demise.

[doug from upland]

Paris names Abu-Jamal an Honorary Citizen

From Times Wire Reports
December 6 2001

The Paris city council has named Mumia Abu-Jamal, as an honorary citizen of Paris. Abu-Jamal has been on a U.S. death row in Pennnslylvania for 20 year. The African Amercian journalist was convicted of killing a police officer in a trial that has caused international controversy

An article on the action of the City of Paris also appeared in Los Angeles Times on Dec.6, Home section page A23

Also see AP report below
December 5, 2001

[wiseone]

Why I hate frogs!

self-righteous ,smelly, weasely cheese eating monkeys

[cardinal4]

So in addition to defending Saddam, harboring Einhorn and Polanski, they are glorifying a cop killer?

[jpthomas]

His death penalty was overturned on appeal to a federal judge. There was some problem with the instructions to the jury. However, his conviction was upheld, and he's serving a life sentence. I guess the idiot mayor of Paris doesn't keep up with the news.

[tioga]

What other French products can I quit buying. This is sick!

[Falcon4.0]

Actually their making a fine living at it.
Quite profitable you know old chap.