Jalil Abdul Muntaqim (formerly Anthony Bottom) was 19 years old when he was arrested. He is a former member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army, and is one of the longest held political prisoners in the world.

Jalil was born October 18, 1951, in Oakland, CA. His early years were spent in San Francisco, where he actively participated in NAACP youth organizing during the civil rights movement.

After the assassination of Dr. King, Jalil began to believe a more militant response to racism and injustice was necessary. He began to look towards the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense for leadership and was recruited into the BPP by school friends who had since become Panthers.

Two months shy of his 20th birthday, Jalil was captured along with Albert “Nuh” Washington in a midnight shoot-out with San Francisco police. When Jalil was arrested, he was a high school graduate and employed as a social worker.

Later, it was uncovered that Jalil was a victim of the FBI's illegal COINTELPRO program designed specifically to neutralize and disrupt social movements working for racial and economic justice. Jalil was named specifically as a person to be targeted, and was subsequently charged with the murder of two NYC police officers. His conviction rested upon false evidence and perjured testimony.

Jalil is currently incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility outside Buffalo, NY. He is 60 years old, andhas been behind bars for 40 years. Despite an exemplary prison record and a continued commitmentto the struggle for racial justice, Jalil is consistently a victim of harassment and targeting at Attica. Heis up for parole for the 6th time this June.

WHY PAROLE JALIL?

While in San Quentin prison in California in 1976, Jalil launched the National Prisoners Campaign toPetition the United Nations to recognize the existence of political prisoners in the United States. Progressives nationwide joined this effort, and the petition was submitted in Geneva, Switzerland. Asa result, the International Commission of Jurists then reported that political prisoners do in fact exist in the United States.

Jalil was one of the founders of the Jericho Movement in 1997. Over 6,000 supporters gathered at theJericho 1998 march in Washington DC and thousands more at a rally in the Bay Area to demand amnesty for US political prisoners on the basis of international law. The Jericho Amnesty Movement aims to gain recognition by the U.S. government and the United Nations that political prisoners exist in this country, and that on the basis of international law, they should be granted amnesty because of the political nature of their cases.

Jalil has filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of prisoners. After many years of being denied the opportunity to attend college, Jalil graduated with a BS in Psychology and a BA in Sociology in 1994.

During his imprisonment, Jalil has become a father, a grandfather and a great-grandfather. Jalil has worked as an educator of other inmates and practices organizing and advocacy whenever possible to ensure the most adequate, humane treatment for all people. He has been repeatedly punished for these activities, through physical abuse, formal discipline, and numerous prison transfers.

Jalil is up for parole for the 6th time this June. After 40 years of incarceration, it is time for him to be free!

Jalil is one of us.

This is not a history lesson.

The same struggles continue today.

Buffalo's progressive community continues the fight for food, housing, protection from police violence, racial and economic justice, and a self-determined community.

HELP RELEASE JALIL SO THAT HE CAN CONTINUE TO FIGHT ALONGSIDE US FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Send a personal letter in support of Jalil's release to:

Andrea W. Evans

Chairwoman of Parole New York State Division of Parole

97 Central Ave Albany, NY 12206

Commissioner Brian Fischer

New York State Division of Parole

97 Central Ave Albany, NY 12206

Please include Jalil's DIN number 77A-4283, and refer to him by his given name, Anthony Bottom. If possible, a copy of this letter should also be sent to nycjericho@gmail.com to be kept on file. Letters of support can be as in-depth as you like, and should clearly express support for his release on parole to Buffalo, NY this June.

2. Sign the petition on Change.org Release Jalil Muntaqim

3. Spread the word! Tell others about Jalil's case, and educate them about the importance of releasing him this June.

4. Write Jalil to express your support, and ask him directly how you can help.

A. Jalil Bottom 77-A-4283

Attica Correctional Facility

P.O. Box 149Attica, NY 14011-0149