Fwd: Fw: [faces] fwd [nettime-see] FBI ADBDUCTS ARTIST, SEIZES ART - HELP URGENTLY NEEDED

[claudia westermann]

forward this too,
from Marina

>  >
>>
>>  May 25, 2004
>>  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>
>>  FBI ABDUCTS ARTIST, SEIZES ART
>>  Feds Unable to Distinguish Art from Bioterrorism
>>  Grieving Artist Denied Access to Deceased Wife's Body
>>
>>             DEFENSE  FUND ESTABLISHED - HELP URGENTLY NEEDED
>>
>>  Steve Kurtz was already suffering from one tragedy when he called 911
>>  early in the morning to tell them his wife had suffered a cardiac arrest
>>  and died in her sleep.  The police arrived and, cranked up on the
>>  rhetoric
>>  of the "War on Terror," decided Kurtz's art supplies were actually
>>  bioterrorism weapons.
>>
>>  Thus began an Orwellian stream of events in which FBI agents abducted
>>  Kurtz without charges, sealed off his entire block, and confiscated his
>>  computers, manuscripts, art supplies... and even his wife's body.
>>
>>  Like the case of Brandon Mayfield, the Muslim lawyer from Portland
>>  imprisoned for two weeks on the flimsiest of false evidence, Kurtz's
>>  case
>>  amply demonstrates the dangers posed by the USA PATRIOT Act coupled with
>>  government-nurtured terrorism hysteria.
>>
>>  Kurtz's case is ongoing, and, on top of everything else, Kurtz is
>>  facing a
>>  mountain of legal fees. Donations to his legal defense can be made at
>>  http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/
>>
>>  FEAR RUN AMOK
>>
>>  Steve Kurtz is Associate Professor in the Department of Art at the State
>>  University of New York's University at Buffalo, and a member of the
>>  internationally-acclaimed Critical Art Ensemble.
>>
>>  Kurtz's wife, Hope Kurtz, died in her sleep of cardiac arrest in the
>>  early
>>  morning hours of May 11. Police arrived, became suspicious of Kurtz's
>>  art
>>  supplies and called the FBI.
>>
>>  Within hours, FBI agents had "detained" Kurtz as a suspected
>>  bioterrorist
>>  and cordoned off the entire block around his house. (Kurtz walked away
>>  the
>>  next day on the advice of a lawyer, his "detention" having proved to be
>>  illegal.) Over the next few days, dozens of agents in hazmat suits,
>>  from a
>>  number of law enforcement agencies, sifted through Kurtz's work,
>>  analyzing
>>  it on-site and impounding computers, manuscripts, books, equipment, and
>>  even his wife's body for further analysis. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Health
>>  Department condemned his house as a health risk.
>>
>>  Kurtz, a member of the Critical Art Ensemble, makes art which addresses
>>  the politics of biotechnology. "Free Range Grains," CAE's latest
>>  project,
>>  included a mobile DNA extraction laboratory for testing food products
>>  for
>>  possible transgenic contamination. It was this equipment which triggered
>>  the Kafkaesque chain of events.
>>
>>  FBI field and laboratory tests have shown that Kurtz's equipment was not
>>  used for any illegal purpose. In fact, it is not even _possible_ to use
>>  this equipment for the production or weaponization of dangerous germs.
>>  Furthermore, any person in the US may legally obtain and possess such
>>  equipment.
>>
>>  "Today, there is no legal way to stop huge corporations from putting
>>  genetically altered material in our food," said Defense Fund spokeswoman
>>  Carla Mendes. "Yet owning the equipment required to test for the
>>  presence
>>  of 'Frankenfood' will get you accused of 'terrorism.' You can be
>>  illegally
>>  detained by shadowy government agents, lose access to your home, work,
>>  and
>>  belongings, and find that your recently deceased spouse's body has been
>>  taken away for 'analysis.'"
>>
>>  Though Kurtz has finally been able to return to his home and recover his
>>  wife's body, the FBI has still not returned any of his equipment,
>>  computers or manuscripts, nor given any indication of when they will.
>>  The
>>  case remains open.
>>
>>  HELP URGENTLY NEEDED
>>
>>  A small fortune has already been spent on lawyers for Kurtz and other
>>  Critical Art Ensemble members. A defense fund has been established at
>>  http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/ to help defray the legal costs which
>  > will continue to mount so long as the investigation continues. Donations
>>  go directly to the legal defense of Kurtz and other Critical Art
>>  Ensemble
>>  members. Should the funds raised exceed the cost of the legal defense,
>>  any
>>  remaining money will be used to help other artists in need.
>>
>>  To make a donation, please visit http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/
>>
>>  For more information on the Critical Art Ensemble, please visit
>>  http://www.critical-art.net/
>>
>>  Articles about the case:
>>  http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/news-WKBW-2.html
>>  http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/news-WKBW.html
>>
>>  On advice of counsel, Steve Kurtz is unable to answer questions
>>  regarding
>>  his case. Please direct questions or comments to Carla Mendes
>>  <CAEdefense at rtmark.com>.
>>
>>
>>
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