New York, NY—The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement (InPDUM) is proud to announce that we have successfully warded off the attempt by the State to lock up President Diop Olugbala and silence the resistance here in New York.
President Diop was arrested after he served the People's Subpoena to 67th Precinct deputy inspector Kenneth Lehr on May 16, 2013. InPDUM aims to put the NYPD on trial for crimes of colonial genocide being committed against the African community. A video of InPDUM serving the Peoples Subpoena can be found here.
Video shows that Diop was then arrested. His only crime was political resistance to the NYPD.
A massive call-in campaign to free Diop arose. At the initial court hearing held on Friday, May 17, the judge discarded all but one of the 11 warrants that the NYPD had manufactured.
On Tuesday, June 25, President Diop went to court to fight the remaining warrant, which stemmed from driving with a suspended license back in 2006.
In the end, Diop has been required to pay only a $50 fine, as a condition for the judge dismissing the last charge. Therefore, President Diop is free from the immediate threat the State attempted to pose.
Diop had caught the suspended license charge while driving a dollar cab in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn. Dollar cabs and livery cabs are a primary means of transportation for African workers throughout Brooklyn and a viable means of income for many Africans who drive the cabs.
The NYPD has long stood as a force to extort both the community and drivers for money and resources in the form of routine traffic stops and tickets.
During these stops, it is not uncommon for both the drivers and passengers to be frisked by the police.
The traffic stop that resulted in Diop’s charge was a product of the notorious stop-and-frisk policy, which in no way benefits the African community.
The State had aimed to use this seven-year-old outstanding ticket as a means of frustrating the efforts of INPDUM. However, it has only served to deepen our resolve to resist.
The detainment of President Diop sparked an international response and demand for his immediate release.
This forced the State to back off on its aggression towards Diop.
While this by no means represents a blow to the parasitic capitalist system, it is a demonstration of the growing strength of our movement and our ability to endure any and all types of roadblocks that the State may try to place in our path.
This is no small thing, given the intensifying attacks the U.S. colonial state is launching against the African Liberation Movement in this period. The PRISM, NSA, threats on Assata’s life and limb, etc, are all a part of this intensified war.
The State’s inability to hold President Diop is evidence of INPDUM’s growing organizational capacity to push these attacks back while we advance our struggle for Black Power.
Again, InPDUM wants to thank everyone who participated in the struggle to free President Diop. We should see this as training for greater struggles to come.
No compromise! No surrender!
Build the Court for Black Justice and Reparations!
