Elliot Hughes, torture victim at RNC, testifies

Arrested during Day 1 of the RNC, Elliot Hughes, while under the care of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department, was starved, beaten unconscious, hooded and gagged, and ultimately denied medical treatment.

In this video from The Uptake -- found at http://theuptake.org -- hear Elliot's full testimony before a special meeting of St. Paul's council members, on Wednesday September 24th, 2008.

Be warned. What Elliot has to report happened to him tells a disturbing story of unwarranted and unjustifiable police violence. By the end of his testimony, you'll see how St. Paul provided us with echoes of Abu Ghraib during the RNC.

The Ramsey County Sheriff's Department, headed by Bob Fletcher, felt it necessary to hold a press conference today before the public meeting to trash Council Member David Thune who had arranged the "Community Conversation".

Bob Fletcher is responsible for far more than Elliot Hughes' torture. He undertook many out-of-jurisdiction actions before, during, and after the RNC--including harassment of videographers who have remained in town to finish a documentary on the RNC protests.

Fletcher unreasonably attacked David Thune--the City Council member responsible for Ward 2 (Downtown & Lowertown St. Paul where the RNC and protests took place)--simply for holding a public meeting so that the very freaked out and disturbed locals can finally vent at the city.

A city that allowed itself to become Federal Occupied Territory ruled by thuggish police who made even home-owning, lifelong citizens of St. Paul be made to feel like the enemy by the police in their own neighborhoods.

Previously the mayors of both cities had been wishy washy about navel gazing, and had tried to pass off an appointed couple of federal lackeys with a mandate not to investigate police behavior, as an "investigation".

Elliot Hughes' testimony was the final straw that broke the camel's back. The deputy mayor of St. Paul rang Thune after the meeting to promise they would consider (an important word) expanding the investigation team from two members to a larger commission and having them and the Mayor attend the second meeting Council Member Dave Thune is calling.


re posted from my buddy NigelParry