02:27USA: Silence not golden for twice subpoenaed activist
USA: Silence not golden for twice subpoenaed activist
Gerald Koch, a New York legal activist and self-identified anarchist, appeared before supporters in front of the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York on Thursday. Koch refused to testify during a 2009 subpoena about the same event, a 2008 Times Square Military Recruitment Centre bombing, and is planning on staying silent the second time.
Koch is aware that his silence could land him an 18 month incarceration. In a public statement given on support website www.JerryResists.net, Koch declares that he accepts this fate, and 'in doing so, [Koch] will reinforce a tradition of defending individual rights in the face of state repression'.
Gerald, or Jerry, has developed a reputation as a legal counsellor and friend to incarcerated members of anarchist movements, Occupy Wallstreet protesters, and others expressing political dissent. Koch gathered bail money, helped the imprisoned fill out paperwork, and spent hundreds of hours waiting in courtrooms on behalf of people.
Koch has already served a subpoena in 2009 about the Times Square bombing. An unidentified cyclist approached a US Armed Forces Recruitment Centre in New York's Times Square on March 6, 2008 at 03:43 EST (08:43 GMT, 09:43 CET). The cyclist was captured removing a small package from the road bike, setting it beside the recruitment building then riding off. Shortly afterward, the package exploded, damaging the exterior of the building and injuring no one.
Prosecutors claim that Koch received information identifying the bomber from an unknown source while relaxing in a New York bar in 2008.
02:27USA: Silence not golden for twice subpoenaed activist
Gerald Koch, a New York legal activist and self-identified anarchist, appeared before supporters in front of the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York on Thursday. Koch refused to testify during a 2009 subpoena about the same event, a 2008 Times Square Military Recruitment Centre bombing, and is planning on staying silent the second time.
Koch is aware that his silence could land him an 18 month incarceration. In a public statement given on support website www.JerryResists.net, Koch declares that he accepts this fate, and 'in doing so, [Koch] will reinforce a tradition of defending individual rights in the face of state repression'.
Gerald, or Jerry, has developed a reputation as a legal counsellor and friend to incarcerated members of anarchist movements, Occupy Wallstreet protesters, and others expressing political dissent. Koch gathered bail money, helped the imprisoned fill out paperwork, and spent hundreds of hours waiting in courtrooms on behalf of people.
Koch has already served a subpoena in 2009 about the Times Square bombing. An unidentified cyclist approached a US Armed Forces Recruitment Centre in New York's Times Square on March 6, 2008 at 03:43 EST (08:43 GMT, 09:43 CET). The cyclist was captured removing a small package from the road bike, setting it beside the recruitment building then riding off. Shortly afterward, the package exploded, damaging the exterior of the building and injuring no one.
Prosecutors claim that Koch received information identifying the bomber from an unknown source while relaxing in a New York bar in 2008.