This month, New York City's needle possession law will be put to test in two separate but related criminal trials.

ON April 8th, the ACT-UP 10, who were arrested last March while distributing clean needles, bleach kits and condoms to intravenous drug users on the Lower East Side, will begin their trial.

A WEEK LATER, ON april 15th MARCO TARADASH and EMMA BONINO, two italian politicians who were arrested last november for attempting to deliver clean needles to City Hall for distribution to the City's addicts, will begin their trial. In both cases, the defendants will show that their activities were necessary in the face of the rapid spread of the deadly AIDS virus among the City's intravenous drug users, their sexual partners and their children.

On Monday, april 15th the defendants, their expert witmesses and their lawyers will participate in a public forum on clean needles and AIDS. The forun is scheduled at 7.00 p.m.

in the JUDSON MEMORIAL CHURCH

SPEAKERS:

EMMA BONINO: President of the Radical Party, Member of the Italian Parliament, and needle exchange defendant

MARCO TARADASH, member of the European Parliament (italy) and needle exchange defendant

ROD SORGE, Act-Up Needle Exchange Committee and spokeperson for the ACT-up 10;

RUSSEL NEWCOMBE, Director of the Drugs and HIV Monitoring Unit, Mersey Regional Health Authority, England

HOLLY HAGAN , Epidemiologist from the Tacoma-Pierce Health Department, Tacoma,WA, and director of several studies on the effectiveness of needle exchange:

DAVID PURCHASE, Founder of Point Defiance Needle Exchange, Tacoma

WILLIAM KUNSTLER, lawyer for Emma Bonino and Marco Taradash

JON SOROKO, former narcotics prosecutor, lawyer for Bonino and Taradash

JILL HARRIS, lawyer for the ACT-UP 10

MICHAEL SPIEGEL, Lawyer for the ACT -UP 10

SPONSOR:

ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union

Act-up New York

Judson Memorial Church

New York City Harm reduction Working Group