Siddique Abdullah Hasan

  Siddique Abdullah Hasan (Carlos A. Sanders)

#R130559

Ohio State Penitentiary

PO Box 1436

Youngstown, Ohio 44505

 

 A POLITICAL PRISONER ON DEATH ROW

-Easter Sunday, 1993, the Lucasville, OH, prison was rocked when prisoners took control in what was the longest prison uprising in U.S. history.

-Prisoners were fighting back against a “long train of abuses.” When prison boss Arthur Tate mandated TB testing with injections containing alcohol, Muslim prisoners politely requested an alternative testing method. Tate’s refusal to comply, along with his utter disrespect of Muslims, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

-During the course of the uprising, 9 prisoners and 1 cop were killed.

-A remarkable interracial solidarity was shown during the 11-day siege as Black & white prisoners, Muslims & white Aryans, stood together against their common enemy — the state and its armed police thugs.  

-Hasan played a key role in negotiating a peaceful end to the siege, preventing additional violence & death from the state.

-The Lucasville rebellion sent a shock wave of fear into the heart of the prison system, & the state was determined to teach a lesson to those who stand up & fight back. In the sham trials that followed, Hasan & 4 other leaders, Black & white, were scapegoated onto death row.

-Although no eyewitness testimony & no material evidence link Hasan to the death of the cop, the state used jailhouse snitch testimony, along with a predominantly white jury in Cincinnati (a city notorious for its institutionalized racism), to get a conviction against Hasan in a trial reeking with the foul odors of racism & Islamaphobia.

Who is SIDDIQUE ABDULLAH HASAN?

  •  A devout Muslim who serves as Imam (prayer leader).
  •  A husband and father
  • Founder of Compassion magazine, which serves as a forum for prisoners to assist victims of crime.
  • Co-founder of Prisonersolidarity.org, a website for prisoners & their supporters to exchange information.
  • A journalist and prolific writer.
  • A social justice leader who has assisted youth in obtaining college scholarships.

“I urge you and all concerned citizens to take a stand against the racism and bigotry which are being perpetrated against Blacks in our judicial system.” Siddique Abdullah Hasan, excerpt from his essay “Institutionalized Racism”

The spoken words of Hasan can be heard on Prison Radio at:  www.prisonradio.org.

Some of Hasan’s many articles can be found at www.prisonersolidarity.org.