Anarchists stand by their Panther
Wednesday 9 July, 1997 (4:35pm AEST)
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The organisation which brought civil rights activist,
Lorenzo Ervin, to Australia has vowed to continue to
fight for the former Black Panther.

A spokesman for the anarchist group, Angry People,
Phil Dickinson, said it would pay Mr Ervin's bail if an
order was made by the court, or sponsor a second trip
to Australia if he is deported.

The group has organised a national day of action for
tomorrow to protest against Mr Ervin's treatment by
the government.

Mr Dickinson said Mr Ervin did not lie on his visa
application and believes a racist campaign is afoot to
have the activist removed from the country.

"Lorenzo did not lie on his visa application - he was
electronically issued a visa," Mr Dickinson said. 
"He used his name, Lorenzo Ervin, to obtain that...
Any fault lies on the immigration dept and not on
Lorenzo himself." 

Mr Dickinson said Mr Ervin could contribute a lot to
the race debate in Australia if given a chance.

"He's an important man, he's got a lot to say about
the anti-racist struggle. His experiences are vast and
obviously the government here fears him so much
that they've tried to silence him so quickly," Mr
Dickinson said.

He said Mr Ervin has a lot of support in Australia
now, which would make bringing him back to this
country worthwhile, if he is deported.

Meanwhile, Mr Ervin's solicitor this afternoon
released a statement claiming his client was
mishandled by immigration officials when he was
taken into custody.

It is alleged Mr Ervin was handcuffed and then
pushed into a wall, breaking his glasses.