File Buz

In 2007 Om Puri played a significant supporting role in Mike Nichols Charlie Wilsons War: portraying a near-perfect Pakistani president Zia-ul-Haq.In one scene he spoke in a delightful Punjabi accented English and cautiously suggested to Charlie Wilson, a Congressman from Texas played by Tom Hanks, that covert aide to the mujahideen, fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, should pass through the hands of the Pakistani government.I wanted to write

But the publicists for the film and even the studio Universal Pictures informed me that they had no images of Puri. Sadly this amazing actor had left no impression on the publicists who were mostly focused on promoting Hanks and his co-star Julia Roberts. Puri acted in over 300 film projects in India and abroad, and yet he did not get the kind of recognition that he surely deserved. He won two National Awards in India in the acting category (Arohan, 1982 and Ardh Satya, 1983), and was recognised at a number of film festivals, including a lifetime achievement medal at the prestigious Telluride Film Festival.

He was even nominated for a Bafta film award in 2000 for playing the lead in Ayub Khan Dins autobiographical British film East is East. But unfortunately in the last decade or so Puri, the actor, was largely forgotten in the west and even in India. He did play one last big role in the west - that of an Indian chef in a remote French town in The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014), opposite a feisty Helen Mirren. It was a rare moment when Puri was suddenly, albeit briefly, the focus of a film produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.

While promoting that film, Puri told me that Hindi cinema mostly concentrated on younger, good looking actors. And the industry had relegated him to roles of the father of a lead actor or a police officer. He was rarely offered meaty roles, he complained. He was always hungry for more challenging work and recognition. In another interview while promoting East is East (1999), Puri told me that his big regret was that he would never get the kind of roles given to Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. But Om Puri was as great an actor as Hoffman and De Niro. In fact, one can say he was even better, given the number of films he acted in and the range of his performances.

His comic timing was perfect and we can see that in the cult classic indie Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and later on in Vishal Bhardwajs Maqbool - a modern day take on Macbeth, where Puri played one of the witches, along with his colleague and friend Naseeruddin Shah.

Also in the same time period he played a sleazy photographer in Shyam Benegals Mandi (1983).

He was the voice of an angry, frustrated cop in Ardh Satya (1983), but was equally charming and seductive with his co-star, the late Smita Patil. And in Aakrosh (1980) he was the oppressed peasant who barely uttered a word. Puri became one of the first Indian actors of his generation to crossover to the west with his work in British films - East is East, its less successful sequel West is West (2010), the rarely seen Brothers in Trouble (1995), the Hanif Kureishi scripted My Son the Fanatic (1997), and the mini-series White Teeth (2002), based on Zadie Smiths bestseller novel. That was a time when nearly every Indian or Pakistani role in a British production was offered to Puri. Hollywood came calling as well.

Mike Nichols also cast him in an important role in Wolf (1994) where Puri shared screen time with Jack Nicholson. And earlier Roland Joffé cast him in a supporting role in City of Joy (1992). In 1994, Ismail Merchant cast Puri as a hapless college professor who sets out to interview an ageing and overweight Urdu poet (Shashi Kapoor) in In Custody, based on Anita Desais Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel. Puri was perfect in the film, displaying his frustration as he observed the decline of Urdu language and poetry. But it is the sad reality of the film business, that talented men and women find it harder to get juicy roles as they get older. And Puri had to face that fact.

Om Puri died too soon. But he has left a huge body of work reflecting his four decades as a film actor. He should get the most attention that a master actor of his stature deserves.

After decades of appeals and counter-appeals, delays and diversions, the 5th Circuit Court will review Judge Bradys decision to overturn Alberts conviction tomorrow. 

Years and years of efforts to bring attention to this case and to see that justice is finally done will culminate in the outcome of this important hearing.

If you are intending to attend the hearing, please refer to our last newsletter for detailed information on time, place and court-room etiquette.  If youre watching from afar as so many of us are, we hope that you will join us in sending all of our prayers, thoughts and energy towards a positive ruling that will lead to Alberts release.

We have to believe that all the hard work to shed light on this horrific case will ultimately lead to Alberts freedom.
Join us in focusing all our attention on this final and crucial hearing to bring Albert home.

Free Albert Woodfox and all political prisoners!

(PHOTO: Artwork displayed at Herman Wallace’s memorial service, with Herman calling for Alberts release. See more photos of the memorial service by Ann Harkness.)

Featured below are statements released January 6, 2014 by both Amnesty USA and Amnesty Internationals Media Centre, on the eve of Albert Woodfoxs oral arguments before the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans on Tuesday, January 7 (see also postings by Amnesty Suisse and France).

Following that is an email action alert sent on January 3 that declared "Drop the vengeance! Free Albert Woodfox!" It called on supporters to sign the petition calling on Alberts immediate release.


Amnesty International USA Calls on Louisiana to Release Albert Woodfox

Contact: Natalie Butz, nbutz@aiusa.org, 202-675-8761, @AIUSAmedia

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - On the eve of a federal court of appeals hearing on the case of Albert Woodfox, Amnesty International USA is calling on authorities in Louisiana to immediately release Woodfox from prison where he has spent over four decades in solitary confinement.

"Louisiana cannot extend the abuses and injustice against Albert Woodfox another day," said Steven W. Hawkins, executive director, Amnesty International USA. "Louisiana authorities are leading a campaign of vengeance instead of upholding justice. Keeping Woodfox in solitary confinement for over four decades is a dark stain on human rights in the United States and globally. Louisiana must withdraw its legal appeal and allow the federal court ruling to stand. Should this not occur, the Court of Appeal should rule in the interests of justice and pave the way for Albert Woodfoxs release."

On January 7, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal court that oversees appeals in Louisiana and other states) will rule whether to uphold a federal district judges ruling issued last February that overturned Woodfoxs conviction. The state of Louisiana has appealed asking for the federal court to reinstate the sentence.

"The state of Louisianas action is not in the interests of justice," said Tessa Murphy, USA campaigner at Amnesty International. "Its insistence on keeping Albert Woodfox behind bars after decades in solitary confinement amounts to a campaign of vengeance, paid with taxpayers money. The conviction has been overturned three times in what is a deeply flawed case, yet Louisiana has opposed every remedy ordered by the courts."

Albert Woodfox was placed in solitary confinement over 41 years ago in Louisiana State Penitentiary, known to many as "Angola." During this time, he has been confined to a small cell for 23 hours a day, denied access to meaningful social interaction and rehabilitation programs.

Prison records show that Woodfox has not committed any serious disciplinary infractions for decades and that he doesnt pose a threat to himself or others.

He and Herman Wallace were both convicted of the 1972 murder of prison guard Brent Miller. There was no physical evidence to link them to the crime and their convictions relied primarily on the dubious testimony of a sole eyewitness who received favorable treatment, and was eventually pardoned, for his testimony. The case against them was based on flawed evidence and riddled with procedural errors that have been extensively documented over the years.

Both men robustly denied any involvement in the crime. They believe they were falsely implicated in the murder because of their political activism in prison as members of the Black Panther Party.

Herman Wallace was released in October 2013 just days before he died of liver cancer. A federal judge overturned his conviction on the basis of the systematic exclusion of women from the grand jury during his 1974 trial.

"A remedy to the injustice inflicted on Albert Woodfox by the state is long overdue," said Murphy. "Herman Wallace gained his freedom only to die within days. Justice must not again be so cruelly delayed."

After the death of Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfoxs co-defendant in the "Angola 3" case, Amnesty International launched a campaign calling on the state of Louisiana to release Albert Woodfox from prison by means of withdrawing its appeal against the U.S. District Courts ruling.

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million members in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

(PHOTO: Herman Wallace, on left, with Albert Woodfox, on right)

USA: End four-decade campaign of vengeance and release Albert Woodfox

(PHOTO: Michael Mable, the brother of Albert Woodfox, speaks at the press conference and delivery of petition to free Albert at the Louisiana State Capitol on Oct.21, 2013.)

Drop the vengeance! Free Albert Woodfox!

(Email Action Alert sent by Amnesty USA on Friday, January 3, 2014)

This could be the end of Albert Woodfoxs 40-year plus prison nightmare, if you act now.

On Tuesday morning, Jan. 7, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans will hold a hearing to determine Alberts fate. Will they finally act on the 2013 ruling that overturned his conviction and set him free, or shut the door and send him back to another unthinkable year in solitary confinement?

Federal courts have overturned Alberts conviction 3 times. The state of Louisiana has appealed 3 times.

Enough is enough.

Tell the state of Louisiana to end its campaign of vengeance and let Albert go.

Nothing can justify the cruel treatment that Louisiana authorities have inflicted on Albert, one of the famed Angola 3 prisoners.

For decades, the authorities have punished Albert with solitary confinement. Hes survived 40 years living in a tiny cell for 23 hours a day, denied meaningful human contact and rehabilitation.

In a deeply flawed verdict, Albert was convicted of murder even though no physical evidence ties him to the crime, the state lost potentially exculpatory evidence, and authorities bribed their key witness.

Albert maintains he was put in solitary confinement in retaliation for organizing prisoners against segregation and other abuses in Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as "Angola".

Its simply unconscionable for the state to hold this man one day longer.

Please help Amnesty International demand freedom for Albert Woodfox. 

Please take action before the Jan. 7 hearing.

Thanks for standing by Albert, and for all you do to defend human dignity for all.

Sincerely,

Jasmine Heiss
Campaigner, Individuals and Communities at Risk
Amnesty International USA

(PHOTO: Amnesty USAs Jasmine Heiss spoke at the Louisiana State Capitol on Oct. 21, 2013.)