[Noisebridge-discuss] Open letter from Oshan Cook

Martin Bogomolni martinbogo at gmail.com
Tue Nov 20 18:48:34 UTC 2012


Since the Huffington Post, NY Times, and Omshan's own letter are light
on what the actual charge was in the first place.  The crime was
posession and intention to distribute 3 pounds of MDMA.  (~$18,000/lb)

The US gov archive of the undercover investigation and arrest here:

http://ia600807.us.archive.org/5/items/gov.uscourts.cand.227253/gov.uscourts.cand.227253.1.0.pdf

Pfeh .. big waste of taxpayer money.   Putting Oshan in jail for 15
years is a waste of almost half a million tax dollars.

-M

On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 7:13 AM, Tony Longshanks LeTigre
<anthonyletigre at gmail.com> wrote:
> They're still going to appeal it.
>
>
> On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 4:54 AM, Frantisek Apfelbeck <algoldor at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> Well after reading this and hearing so many good things about the Om Shan
>> Teahouse and his owner in the past I hope for a miracle I wish he gets out
>> of there soon.
>>
>> Frantisek Algoldor Apfelbeck
>>
>> biotechnologist&kvasir and hacker
>>
>>
>> http://www.frantisekapfelbeck.org
>>
>>
>> "There is no way to peace, peace is the way." Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: Tony Longshanks LeTigre <anthonyletigre at gmail.com>
>> To: Noisebridge Discuss <noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net>
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 7:05 PM
>> Subject: [Noisebridge-discuss] Open letter from Oshan Cook
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
>> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
>> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> You should read my diaries after I die—I talk about you a lot in there.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Noisebridge-discuss mailing list
> Noisebridge-discuss at lists.noisebridge.net
> https://www.noisebridge.net/mailman/listinfo/noisebridge-discuss
>



More information about the Noisebridge-discuss mailing list