URGENT CALL FOR SOLIDARITY WITH BERNARD RAPPAZ, SWISS HEMP PIONEER

On 26 August 2010 Bernard Rappaz, the Valaisan hemp grower sentenced to a five year jail term, started his third hunger strike in 5 months. He called off the earlier strike on 20 July protest after being allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest pending a federal supreme court ruling on the affair. This ruling has confirmed the sentence and Rappaz has gone back to strike.

Source: Support Rappaz

SEE THE INTERVIEW WITH BERNARD RAPPAZ

The life of Bernard Rappaz, Swiss hemp pioneer imprisoned since 20 March, is in serious danger after more than 81 days of hungerstrike.

How to support Bernard Rappaz?

There are several ways of supporting the hemp farmer Bernard Rappaz in the trial that he is living, and on another plan, in its battle for the freedom of the hemp.

Talk about it!! Bernard a hemp activist, he is in a battle against an irremovable enemy : the State, corrupted by pharmaceutical and other lobbys.

Buzz his story around you...

Participate in actions :

* Solidarity chain of fast.

Give one to three days of your life for Bernard. Join us. Someone will fastly contact you.

* Participate to several actions. Stay tuned with the blog.

* Write him!

Bernard Rappaz
Prison des Iles
CH-1950 Sion

* Write an email to Swiss authorities (see below for the adresses) to show your support of Bernard Rappaz and ask for his liberation.

This is a text that you can copy and put in your email.

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Title : Pétition pour la grâce de Bernard Rappaz

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Madame, Monsieur,

Conseiller(e) du Canton du Valais,

We wish, in this current time of emergency, to further draw your attention to the case of your fellow countryman, Mr. Bernard Rappaz.

We are very concerned, as we continue to closely follow the series of events that happen to our friend Bernard, since his inception in detention at the end of March 2010, including his three consecutive hunger strikes, the last of which began in August 2010.

Please see and understand our admiration for this veteran of hemp/cannabis legalization because his action and his personality have exceededfar beyond the narrow borders of Switzerland and the canton of Valais.

We would like to remind you that if by misfortune it should happen, that into a tragic end we are all plunged, the image of Switzerland and the canton of Valais would be seriously tarnished and for a long time to come. This case is all the more regrettable as it relates to the defense of a plant: a simple plant used for a long time in your country and that they have now rediscovered rich potential for a varietyof succeeding crises.

Can we, on behalf of the law, kill someone for defending a cultured plant?

For the sake of humanity, It is imperative that you do all that is necessary within your powers, so that Bernard can live as a free man, not to go to his willingness to refuse to be force fed, and we ask that you now please show your grace, so that this courageous man does not die locked up in one of your prisons - what is a sole, inadmissible and improbable, event bearing and bringing damage throughout Switzerland. You must especially know that not only the people of canton of Valais are looking at you, As is the world...

In reality, it would be much less scandalous given the grace, grace he asked for and as he waits for, rather than make him a martyr. Remember also that there is an urgent need to put an end to the war on drugs, it is a costly and counterproductive war.

Finally in this general hypocrisy with the long litany of dramas of all kinds. Bernard, by being raised against these injustices, became one of the greatest figures of his world time. If you choose to deem good or evil, according to what you decide at your next Commission du Valais and you wear long this responsibility, in case you decide not to choose a reasonable and humanist way to end the current crisis concerning Bernard Rappaz.

I send my distinguished greetings and urge you to do everything expeditiously required "Urgently"...

YOUR NAME

YOUR ADDRESS

DATE

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Send your email to these people:

jean-luc.addor at admin.vs.ch ; grawal at admin.vs.ch ; marcelle.monnet-terrettaz at admin.vs.ch ; andre.vernay at admin.vs.ch ; nicolas.voide at admin.vs.ch ; pascal.gaillard at admin.vs.ch ; felix.ruppen at admin.vs.ch ; jean-albert.ferrez at admin.vs.ch ; jean-francois.copt at admin.vs.ch ; esther.waeber at bluewin.ch

- Esther Waeber, Chef, Département de sécurité, affaires sociales et integration, Canton de Valais, Suisse

Copie pour :

1 Parti démocrate-chrétien du Centre

Gaillard Pascal

2 Parti démocrate-chrétien du Bas

Nicolas Voide

3 Parti démocrate-chrétien du Haut-Valais

Felix Ruppen

4 Parti libéral-radical valaisan

André Vernay

5 Alliance de Gauche (SPO-PS-VERTS-PCS)

Marcelle Monnet-Terrettaz