Mark Curtis Defense Committee target of second frame-up trial

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Mark Curtis, a member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), is serving a 25-year sentence for rape and burglary. He was framed up one-and-a-half years ago based on the false testimony of the arresting police officers. Unchallenged court testimony places Curtis at a bar with friends when, according to initial reports by the alleged victim, the attack occurred.

But the trials of Curtis did not end with his conviction. He was harassed numerous times by prison authorities while at the Iowa Men's Reformatory in Anamosa. They were no doubt alarmed about Curtis's political activity, which included his election as an officer of an active prison discussion club called the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee.

All this recently led to Curtis being transferred on one-day's notice to the John Bennett Correctional Center in Fort Madison, Iowa, because "it was the right thing to do," according to the Anamosa warden.

It didn't take long for Curtis to run up against the same kind of treatment at Fort Madison. On June 13, Curtis was handed a "major report" stating that he had committed an offense. This would have meant transfer to a maximum security prison where Curtis's ability to communicate with his supporters would be drastically curtailed.

Curtis's alleged offense was that his wife, Kate Kaku, had placed $1.35 in change in his pocket to hold for her while she smoked a cigarette. Kate had no pockets on her dress. After the visit, Curtis forgot to return the change. For this crime, he was charged with "unauthorized possession," "disobeying orders," "disruptive activity," and "attempted complicity."

Quick action by the Curtis Defense Committee led to several dozen protest telegrams landing on the warden's desk. As a result, all charges were dropped.

Inside the courtroom

A second frameup of Mark Curtis is taking place in the courtroom. A lawsuit has been filed against Curtis, Kate Kaku, and the Defense Committee by the parents of the alleged rape victim.

The lawsuit involves two issues. First, ... Sanctions (continued from page 1: “New socialist group in South Africa,”) proposal were more clearly defined during Mandela's U.S. visit.

(1) Mandela was told to be "responsive" to white minority rights.

While Mandela insisted on the need for "one person, one vote" in a non-racial, unitary state, he also said he would be "flexible" the court is being asked to reaffirm the guilt of Curtis despite the fact that the case is still under appeal. Second, the court is being asked to assign substantial fines against the named defendants because they have profited from the "commercialization of his [Curtis's] acts." This last reference is to Defense Committee efforts to raise money to pursue the extensive legal and political aspects of exposing the frameup.

"This countercampaign" Kate Kaku points out, "has been spearheaded by a group called the Workers League. This group repeats the line that Mark Curtis attacked a young Black woman and that Mark's defense campaign is against a Black family. This is not true."

"Our campaign is directed at the cops," Kaku explains. "It was the cops that framed 'Mark. It was the cops who beat him. It was the cops who called him a 'Mexican-lover, just like you like those coloreds.' It was the cops who lied in court and it was their testimony that convicted Mark."

The lawsuit is only one part of the Workers League's campaign against Curtis. John Studer, executive director of the Curtis Defense Committee, commented to Socialist Action about a book published by the Workers League which argues that Curtis is guilty.

"The book is part of the longstanding and ongoing campaign of the Workers League in support of the cop frameup of Mark Curtis," Studer said. "The book attempts to explain that the thousands who are rallying in support of Curtis are dupes of Mark's party, the Socialist Workers Party, which they also claim is controlled by police agents."

Workers League book

The book Studer is referring to is titled "The Mark Curtis Hoax." In the book, the Workers League states its real motives for supporting the prosecution case against Curtis.

The author, Martin McLaughlin, claims that "there is massive documentary evidence