Since December 26th, 2023 political prisoner Rashid Johnson and 14 other prisoners at Red Onion State Prison located in the southwest Virginia town of Pound have been sustaining a hunger strike over the human rights violation of long term solitary confinement.
Under the United Nations’ Mandela Rules solitary confinement amounts to torture, which was prohibited under the 1984 UN Convention Against Torture. Despite the recent passage of House Bill 2487, which was meant to restrict the use of solitary confinement, the Virginia Department of Corrections has continued on with the practice unabated, renaming it “restorative housing.”
The hunger strikers have sought legal recourse prior to the strike to address these issues with no resolution. Having exhausted all options they have been forced to engage in the hunger strike as a last resort to have their demands met. Their demands are as follows:
Release prisoners from “restorative housing”
Restore visitation rights of prisoners so families may check on them
Access for families to inspect conditions of prisoners
The transfer of Rashid Johnson back to Sussex I prison for proper medical treatment for their cancer and congestive heart failure
The Blue Ridge IWW stands in solidarity with the Red Onion prisoners on hunger strike. We call on the Virginia Department of Corrections and the Youngkin administration to meet their demands and stop the use of torture as defined by the United Nations.
We call on all supporting organizations and individuals to endorse this statement and sign this petition demanding the Red Onion hunger strikers’ demands be met by the state of Virginia.
Supporters are also encouraged to contact the following officials to demand the strikers’ demands be met:
– David Robinson, VADOC Central Administration, 804-887-8078, david.robinson@vadoc.virginia.gov
– Virginia DOC Director Chadwick S Dotson, 804-674-3081, Chadwick.Dotson@vadoc.virginia.gov
– Rose L. Durbin, VADOC Central Administration, 804-887-7921, Rose.Durbin@vadoc.virgina.gov
– Beth Cabell, Division of Institutions, 804-834-9967, beth.cabell@vadoc
– Gov. Glenn Youngkin, 804-786-2211, glenn.youngkin@governor.virginia.gov
