Federal Judge Charles S. Haight, Jr. of the Southern District Court of New York has set a hearing for June 26, 1998 to hear arguments on a habeas corpus motion filed by Black revolutionary nationalist Dr. Mutulu Shakur.

Shakur’s attorneys will argue that the federal prosecution team lied during the 1988 trial when it claimed that he had never been the target of a government surveillance operation.  A ruling in Shakur’s favor would result in his release.

Dr. Shakur, an acupuncturist and community activist, was convicted of RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrput Organizations) Conspiracy in a federal court in 1988 and sentenced to 60 years.  He was charged, among other things, with aiding the prison escape of Black Panther leader Assata Shakur, now exiled in Cuba.

Attorneys Jonathan Lubell and Michael Warren will present a witness, Claudie Strickland, who will state that as an undercover agent for the New York Police Department, he had Mutulu Shakur and others under surveillance for approximately 10 years.

Although Mr. Strickland states that he filed 500 reports on Shakur during that time, government response to the court-ordered release of these files has been equivocal.  Officials respond that they don’t know where the files are, or that they never existed.  To this date, none of the reports has been released.