NATO5 Arrestee Pressured into Guilty Plea After 329 days in Jail

From the newswire: "Mark Neiweem, a 28-year-old Chicago activist, pleaded guilty in Cook County Court yesterday [April 11, 2013] to felony charges brought on by interactions with undercover Chicago police officers who had infiltrated activist groups prior to last May's NATO protests. Neiweem pleaded guilty to a probation violation charge from a previous conviction and to solicitation and attempted possession of an explosive or incendiary device. Neiweem, who had spent 329 continuous days in the appalling conditions of Cook County Jail while awaiting trial, will now serve out the remainder of a 3-year sentence in a state prison. He is expected to receive credit for time served and other reductions in the duration of his incarceration for good behavior.

"The politically motivated prosecution and abuse Mark suffered in Cook County Jail point to a degree of coordinated state repression and coercion which was physically and psychologically unbearable," said Rachel Unterman of the NATO 5 Defense Committee. Read more | NATO5 Support Committee