[Imc] Odd G8 arrest piece

[Chas. M. Bee]

   Quite probably there's a more suitable place to post this, but I
don't know where it is, so apologies in advance.  -- CMB

N.J. Parents Shocked by Italy Arrest 

By Cheryl Wittenauer
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, August 7, 2001; 9:02 PM 

WARREN, N.J.  A telephone call from Italy put Rick and Cathy Thomas'
lives into a spin. Their daughter was in jail, accused of conspiring with
anarchists to loot and destroy property during last month's Group of Eight
summit.

The Thomases were shocked. Susanna, a 21-year-old honors student at Bryn
Mawr College, had been accompanying a street theater group as part of her
research on nonviolent social activism, they said.

As a member of the pacifist Christian Quakers, Susanna would not be
involved in violent anarchy, the Thomases said.

"She's a prisoner of happenstance," Rick Thomas said. "It's all a horrible
accident."

Since that first call from the U.S. consulate on July 24 to their home in
Warren, N.J., about 30 miles west of New York, the Thomases have spent
hours on the phone with Italian and U.S. officials, their two U.S. senators,
attorneys they've retained on two continents, and an international
network of
fellow Quakers. Rick Thomas set up a Web site seeking support for her
release from the jail in Genoa, Italy only hours after learning of her arrest.

In the chaos that has enveloped their lives, the Thomases now average 10
hours of sleep between them.

Susanna Thomas faces 15 years in prison on a charge of conspiring with the
Black Bloc during the protests. The July 20-22 summit was marked by
anti-globalization protests, some violent, and one protester was killed.

Susanna and two dozen members of the Austrian political street theater
company Publix Theater were arrested July 22 after leaving Genoa in a
caravan of vehicles. Three other Americans were among those detained.

Susanna had just spent a semester in Paris and had begun her senior thesis
topic, the spiritual roots and techniques of social activism.

Working as a journalist, Susanna had been covering the theater group as
they moved about refugee camps in Europe. During the summit, she worked
as an interpreter at the Austrian Independent Media Center and the Genoa
Social Forum, an alternative summit.

In the United States, Susanna was active in human rights causes, but her
activism has always been peaceful, said people who know her.

"She's a shining example of someone who hasn't been touched by popular
culture," said Robin Whitely, a family friend and fellow Quaker.

The Thomases said their daughter e-mailed them on July 22, saying she
planned a one-day trip to the beach before heading home to New Jersey. But
two days later, the U.S. consulate in Milan told the Thomases she was being
held at a women's prison in Voghera, halfway between Genoa and Milan.

Cathy Thomas said she spoke to her daughter briefly on Tuesday for the
first time since the arrest.

"She was scared, scared about her defense, and how the appeal will go,"
she said. "She wants the whole group released because they are innocent."

The other Americans in the group of 25 detainees include a Dearborn, Mich.
woman, and two men Rick Thomas said. He had no further details about the
other Americans.

The Thomases' attorney, Richard Atkins of Philadelphia, said he suspects
the Italian police targeted the theater group when they were unable to
arrest any Black Bloc members.

He said Italian authorities found two pen knives and a black bra tucked away
in a suitcase that they are linking to the black-garbed anarchists.

"It's the strangest alleged piece of evidence I've heard of," Atkins said.

An Italian court next week will review the arraigning judge's decision
to hold
the 25 detainees. They could be set free, held for trial, or released on bond.

Meanwhile, the Thomases said they will continue to campaign for her release,
pray and worry.

"I believe that in a rational world, she would be released," said Rick Thomas.
"But I understand this is not a rational world. I don't want to say I
hope for
things that I don't know will happen."



On the Net:

Susanna Thomas web site: http://home.att.net/ 7/8Su.support/ 

                            © 2001 The Associated Press