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Compiled By GayToday
San Francisco, California--The health of ACT UP-San Francisco AIDS dissident, David Pasquarelli, has taken a turn for the worse. Pasquarelli had recently been jailed for 72 days for his participation in a phone, fax, and email "zap" to protest what he believed to be inaccurate statistics and unwarranted calls for the quarantining of gay men. "On April 17th," an Act Up-San Francisco alert noted, "David began having excruciatingly painful headaches that would not respond to pain relievers. On Monday, April 22nd, David was rushed to the emergency room and admitted to a San Francisco hospital where he was diagnosed with life-threatening cryptococcal meningitis. He is currently on treatment with friends and family at his bedside." Pasquarelli has been at the forefront of a controversial effort to deny the existence of HIV, believing that AIDS is caused by such factors as poverty and malnutrition. He has long opposed the taking of drugs to treat HIV infections. In a widely circulated letter following his release from jail , Pasquarelli disputed the charges that had been brought by the District Attoeny against him and against his cohort, Michael Petrelis, who was also jailed and released on bail. He wrote: "Media photographers and TV news crews had been alerted in advance by the D.A.'s office to capture the shocking arrest of 'San Francisco's AIDS Stalkers' as we were 'captured' out in the hall. Michael and I were then vilified in the media by our very own 'progressive' District Attorney Terence Hallinan who told the media we were dangerous "terrorists." "Articles in The San Francisco Chronicle unfairly accused us of issuing bomb threats and representatives of The Chronicle claimed we threw bricks through the windows of their offices and reporters homes -- allegations that were entirely false. "These misrepresentations of actual property damage and threats of violence with explosives were presented to the Court as facts despite no supporting evidence. Our bail was kept at a phenomenal $1.1 million until Judge Perker Meeks examined the case and found no evidence of bomb threats or bricks. Consequently, our bail was reduced to a still exorbitant $220,000 but, luckily, we were able to secure our freedom with a bail bond." |
