Bolivia

Release Adam Ziemkowski

FOLLOWING ATTACKS on left-wing activists by right-wing thugs, working in collaboration with the right-wing Prefectura in Cochabamba, Bolivia, CWI member Adam Ziemkowski has been arrested. He will appear in court on 6 June charged with 'sedition and incitement to violence'.

Adam, a US national, is in Bolivia on an international scholarship studying marginalised and oppressed groups. Bolivian CWI members have been threatened by right-wing thugs and in one case threatened with rape. A solidarity campaign is being built in Cochabamba along with a campaign against violence and repression by the right wing.

Please rush protest letters (see model letter below) to the Prefectura in Cochabamba demanding that the charges against Adam Ziemkowski be dropped. E-mail to Manfred Reyes Villa at prefectura@prefecturacochabamba.gov.bo

Click here to see amateur video of UK protest outside Bolivian embassy

Letter to Manfred Reyes Villa

Gobierno Departemental de Cochabamba

Plaza 14 de Septiembre Acreca Norte 243

Cochabamba, Bolivia

Dear Sir,

We are writing to protest in the strongest possible terms at the arrest and prosecution of Mr. Adam Ziemkowski, a USA national. Mr. Ziemkowski is currently on a US international scholarship in Bolivia, a 'Fulbright Scholar'.

He has been charged with sedition and inciting violence despite carrying leaflets when arrested, which he was using for his research, from a group who were protesting against violence and repression in Cochabamba.

The arrest of Mr. Ziemkowski, and his threatened prosecution is a blatant attack on democratic and human rights. If continued it will reflect negatively on yourself and the Bolivian authorities. We intend to take this matter further and expose these undemocratic measures internationally unless these charges are dismissed.

We urge you to dismiss all charges against Mr. Ziemkowski and allow him to continue his research in Bolivia in a democratic and free manner.