NEWS RELEASE
from the Nuclear Resister newsletter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 4, 2007
Contact in Tucson:
Jack or Felice Cohen-Joppa 520-323-8697 (office), 520-603-1917 (cell)

U.S. Seeks to Muzzle Ft. Huachuca Protest Defense

A new trial date is expected to be set at the Wednesday, June
6 pretrial hearing in U.S. District Court, (405 W. Congress St.,
Tucson) for two Roman Catholic priests arrested at a protest last
November at Fort Huachuca.

Among other pretrial motions motions to be considered at the
9:00 a.m. hearing by U.S. Magistrate Hector Estrada is a government
request that the judge prohibit any testimony regarding “the morality
or immorality of the Government’s use of interrogation techniques;
training of soldiers in such techniques; the legality of Operation
Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, or other operations to
support interrogations in foreign countries; the legality of the
Military Commission Act of 2006, the application of the defense of
international law; or the wisdom of any political question or
government policy as an attempt to establish the defense of
justification.”

The two are charged with federal trespass and an Arizona
state charge of failure to comply with a police officer following
their attempt to speak with enlisted personnel and deliver a letter
denouncing torture and the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to Major
General Barbara Fast, commander at Fort Huachuca, on November 19,
2006.

Military prosecutor Capt. Evan Seamone is also expected to
reintroduce a motion to have the priests jailed pending trial.

Supporters of the priests will join them at 8:00 a.m.
Wednesday, June 6, for a brief morning support rally in the courtyard
in front of the U.S. District Court.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 5, supporters are invited to join the
defendants and others for a Festival of Hope for a future free from
the terror and injustice of torture. The Festival of Hope begins at
6 p.m. at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, 3809 E. 3rd St., Tucson. A
potluck meal in Geneva Hall will be followed by a 7 p.m. program in
the church sanctuary. Speakers at the Festival of Hope will include
torture survivor Orlando Tizon, (Assistant Director, Torture
Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International), human
rights attorney William Quigley (Loyola University, New Orleans),
retired U.S. Army Colonel and diplomat Ann Wright, and defendants Fr.
Louis Vitale and Fr. Stephen Kelly. Music will be provided by San
Francisco cultural worker Francisco Herrera and Tucson musician Ted
Warmbrand.

The defendants and all of the speakers will be available for
media interviews in midtown Tucson on Tuesday afternoon, June 5.
Please call 323-8697 for arrangements.

For more information, visit http://TortureOnTrial.org

MEDIA ADVISORY from the Nuclear Resister newsletter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2007
Contact in Tucson:
Jack or Felice Cohen-Joppa 520-323-8697 (office), 520-603-1917 (cell)

Ft. Huachuca Protest Trial Postponed; Defendant Priests Ordered to
Attend Pretrial Hearing Instead

The June 6 trial in U.S. District Court, Tucson, for two
Roman Catholic priests arrested at a protest last November at Fort
Huachuca has been postponed. Instead, Fr. Louis Vitale and Fr.
Stephen Kelly have been ordered to appear at 9 a.m. that same day in
U.S. Magistrate Hector Estrada’s court for a hearing on pretrial
motions.

Supporters of the priests will join them at 8:00 a.m.
Wednesday, June 6, for a brief morning support rally in the courtyard
in front of the U.S. District Court, 405 W. Congress St.

It is anticipated that military prosecutor Capt. Evan Simone
may reintroduce a motion to have the priests jailed pending trial,
for which a new date will be set at the June 6 hearing. The two are
charged with federal trespass and an Arizona state charge of failure
to comply with a police officer following their attempt to speak with
enlisted personnel and deliver a letter denouncing torture and the
Military Commissions Act of 2006 to Major General Barbara Fast,
commander at Fort Huachuca, on November 19, 2006.

On Tuesday, June 5, supporters are invited to join the
defendants and others for a Festival of Hope for a future free from
the terror and injustice of torture. The Festival of Hope begins at
6 p.m. at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, 3809 E. 3rd St., Tucson. A
potluck meal in Geneva Hall will be followed by a 7 p.m. program in
the church sanctuary. Speakers at the Festival of Hope will include
torture survivor Orlando Tizon, (Assistant Director, Torture
Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International), human
rights attorney William Quigley (Loyola University, New Orleans),
retired U.S. Army Colonel and diplomat Ann Wright, and defendants Fr.
Louis Vitale and Fr. Stephen Kelly. Music will be provided by San
Francisco cultural worker Francisco Herrera and Tucson musician Ted
Warmbrand.

The defendants and all of the speakers will be available for
media interviews in midtown Tucson on Tuesday afternoon, June 5.
Please call 323-8697 for arrangements.

For more information, visit http://TortureOnTrial.org