[Noisebridge-discuss] Open letter from Oshan Cook

[Tony Longshanks LeTigre]

I want to post this open letter newly written by my friend Oshan, who owns
Om Shan Teahouse in the Mission, just a few blocks down the street from
Noisebridge. He has been to Noisebridge in the past, & many locals know
him. He is currently in jail awaiting sentencing.

* *

*Open Letter from Oshan in Jail*

Dear Family, Friends and Allies,
I am writing to let you know about my current situation. As many of you
know, I have been fighting a legal case for two and a half years, accused
of distributing psychedelics, with charges punishable by 10 years or more
in federal prison.
The weight of having this hanging over my head for years has been an
agonizing experience, causing extreme exhaustion , stress, and a deep
depression. Despite this, I did the best I could to keep running my
teahouse, my mobile tea services, teaching school kids about tea ceremony,
hosting hundreds of spiritual dance, music and poetry events, throwing
large intentional parties (Heartform, Tecompression) and striving to build
community and contribute to the world as best I could. In the end I ran out
of energy and my massive debts due to my legal fees caused me to close my
teahouse down. I did this with great sadness and regret as poured so much
money and years of my life into it. I hope that it had some lasting benefit
to the bay are community and beyond. For more than 4 years, I haven't had
more than 2 days break from my work and have longed for a vacation. I
finally have it now, although tragically not on the beaches or in the
forests as I had dreamed of.

Two and half years of fighting my case included a number of unsuccessful
legal motions, relating to the impropriety of the DEA officers actions
during my arrest and search. I believe these motions were denied due to a
reactionary bias of the judge in my case also due to the outright lies and
fabrications of the police officers. In July 2012 I underwent my first jury
trial. Despite the fact that officers blatantly lied and contradicted each
other while testifying and that dozens of government employees with
unimaginable resources collaborated to try and convict me, multiple jurors
decided that I was not guilty after hearing all the evidence against me.
The prosecutors decided that they would waste more of our tax money by
retrying my case at the end of October 2012. The trial proceeded like that
last one, with officers lying and even admitting to lying during the
previous trial. Sadly, after two days of deliberating, the jurors reached
the verdict of guilty. I suspect that some of the jurors were pressured
into coming to a decision so they would not have to come back after the
weekend. After the verdict was announced, I immediately entered into
custody and was transferred to Glen Dyer County Jail in downtown Oakland. I
have been here for 10 days and will likely be here for another two and half
months, after which I will be transferred into to a federal prison for a
10-15 year sentence.

Here at jail, I am confined to a 100 sq. ft cell more than 21 hours a day
with my cellmate, who is a mexican gangster from the mission. In our cell
is a bunk-bed, a small desk, and a toilet. There is also a small slit of a
window which lets in minimal light, but has a cloudy film on it so I can't
see out of it. The cell is so small that there is only one spot where I can
stand in the middle and stretch out my arms in all directions without
hitting a wall. The cell walls and floor are filthy and there is limited
access to cleaning supplies. In our "pod" there is a TV on very loud
everyday beginning around 8am and ending by 11pm at the earliest but some
days until 2am or later. The TV is usually on a sports channel or sometimes
a violent movie and I can always hear it blaring into my cell often making
it difficult to sleep. We are let out of the cell 4 times a day for meals
and "pod time". Breakfast is served around 6 am (although sometimes as
early as 4 am) and lunch is served around 3:30 pm. The "meals" consist of
the most disgusting and unhealthy food I have ever eaten in my life. I was
raised eating organic, vegetarian food my whole life. I have many food
allergies and the jail is supposed to accommodate my special diet but have
failed despite numerous written and verbal requests, so I am forced to go
without or eat food that violates my fundamental health and spiritual
beliefs. We are only given about 5-10 minutes to eat these "meals" and then
forced to go back in our cells. "Dinner" is delivered to out doors around
7pm and 90% of the time its baloney sandwich, an orange and two cookies.

"Pod time" consists of all 26 inmates in our pod being let into the 1000 sq
ft communal space where we play inmates play chess, cards, socialize, watch
TV and get in line for short phone calls or showers. Pod time happens twice
a day for a total of 3 hours or less, in the morning from around 8-10 am
and in the evening around 8-9 pm. These times are often shortened and
occasionally canceled. All the schedules are constantly shifting so its
hard to get into a routine. Due to the noise and schedule its hard to get
more than 4 hours of solid sleep. There are minimal educational and
religious activities and most have a long wait list that takes a month or
more. State law mandates that inmates get 3 hours/week of outdoor "yard
time" but inmates here tell me they have had about 1 hour of yard time in
the past 6 weeks! Indeed the jail violates many of its own operating
procedures as well as state and federal regulations and probably
international human rights codes.

I cry almost every day that I am here, although I am careful not to do it
around other inmates. I miss all my family and friends. I miss being able
to hug and cuddle with friends. I long to eat healthy food, breather fresh
air, see the sun and the sky, be in nature and be able to move freely and
get proper exercise. I pray everyday for a miraculous release but I don't
see how its possible. I am using this experience as an oppurtunity to grow
and learn as much as I can. I am doing lots of reading, writing lots of
letters and doing calisthenics and yoga as much as I can in this cramped
cell. I am cultivating a strong spiritual practice of meditation and
prayer.

On January 17th, 2013 I will be sentenced to 10-15 years in federal prison.
It would be great to see all my friends there, so mark your calendars if
you can come. It would be great to have good character reference letters to
present to my judge. My lawyer said that quality is much more important
than quantity, so its best if they are from people that actually know me
and especially good if they are from people who would be considered
respectable by my conservative judge. The deadline for these is december
8th. Send them to Aaronzenstevens at gmail.com.

After sentencing it will take 5-30 days for me to be transferred to prison
probably in Oregon or southern California. Prison is much better than jail
and there are a lot more activities, free movement and outdoor time. I am
trying to see it as an extended meditation retreat. Even though I have so
many friends out there, I have a fear that I will be forgotten about, lost
in the prison system.

Due to the fundamental flaws in my case, I will be attempting multiple
appeals in the higher court. This will cost a lot more money, so my family
and friends well be continuing to raise funds and they could use any
assistance anyone could offer. If you have any media or journalism
connections who might want to cover my story, please get in touch.
Thank you for the tremendous amount of support and prayers, donations, and
moral support I have received so far. It really touches my heart and makes
this whole nightmare bearable. I urge everyone to do what they can to
educate themselves and others about the cruel and corrupt criminal justice
system, the horrors of the drug war and the prison industry. There is
information on various organizations you can work with on TeaNotPrison.com.
I also encourage people to explore concepts of judgement and punishment in
our society.

Much Love and Gratitude!
For The Benefit of All Human Beings,
Oshan Anand ♥

-- 
*You should read my diaries after I die—I talk about you a lot in there.*
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