THE
CAMPAIGN, 'Friends of Samar Alami', came into existence when Samar was arrested
for the third time in June 1995 and faced additional charges. The group consisted
of family, friends and acquaintances of Samar and other concerned individuals.
Those of us who knew her were incredulous: we instinctively sensed that something
very wrong was afoot. Yet our knowledge of the perversity of the justice system
helped to immunise us against the air of unreality that surrounded the charges
and subsequent detentions. There was a sense of urgency and impending trouble.
Bitter times followed for all those remanded in custody.
A successful public meeting in December 1995 organised by the campaign highlighted
the plight of the suspects and Samar in particular.
But the appaling conditions suffered by 'Category A' remand prisoners did not
fully come to light until the trial itself, which began in October 1996. By
then, Jawad Botmeh and Mahmoud Abu-Wardeh had been in prison for a crushing
twenty-one months and were much the worse for wear. Samar, who had suffered
in Holloway, had won bail several months earlier.
All through this ordeal, the 'Friends of Samar Alami' sought to support Samar,
proclaim her innocence and publicise the terrible conditions under which she
was being held. Our attempts to make links with the families of the others who
were on trial were, for understandable reasons, limited. Four defendants faced
charges that sought to link them to each other in a web of conspiracy: joining
the same campaign could compound their situation. Nevertheless, all maintained
their innocence and the campaign never doubted their positions. Throughout the
trial, we attended, took notes and watched the charade unfold.
Before and during the trial, the campaign was limited in its room for manoeuvre.
When Samar and Jawad were convicted (and Mahmoud and Nadia thankfully acquitted),
the time for restraint was over. The judge showed little restraint in his summing
up and in his sentencing (both of which are subject to the current appeal on
Samar and Jawad's behalf). The campaign has widened to embrace Jawad and his
family and friends and has changed its name to 'Freedom and Justice for Samar
and Jawad'. It has fallen upon FJSJ to fight three injustices: the guilty verdict,
the highly punitive sentences and the inexplicable high risk categorisation
of two people who were released on bail throughout their trial.
The admissions made in court by Samar and Jawad regarding their experiments
have complicated the work of the campaign, but have not weakened our resolve.
These two people were never motivated by a desire to cause suffering. They are
not terrorists: quite the reverse. They are highly compassionate people desperate
to promote the legitimate rights to self- determination and self- defence of
their people, Palestinians, from unmitigated and unjustified Israeli aggression.
They have never hurt anyone or been part of any illegal conspiracy.
The threefold injustice they currently face remains our raison d'étre:
- We maintain that Samar
and Jawad are not guilty as charged. The evidence in the trial failed to demonstrate
that they had any knowing involvement in the events leading up to and including
the bombing of the Israeli Embassy and Balfour House in July 1994.
- We maintain the twenty-year
sentences they received are unnecessarily harsh.
- We maintain that there
is no justification for Samar and Jawad's status as high security 'Category
A' prisoners, given that they were both considered low enough risk to be bailed
during the trial itself (and in Samar's case for some time before the trial).
We call upon all those able to distinguish fact from insinuation, who believe
in human rights and natural justice and who care that two brilliant young people
have been wrongfully convicted, to support our quest for freedom and justice
for Samar Alami and Jawad Botmeh.
The judge told the jury that, "The evidence here is all circumstantial, you
should consider whether it reveals any other circumstances which are, or may
be, of sufficient reliability and strength to weaken or destroy the Crown's
case."
We hope that after reading this booklet you will agree that the prosecution's
case is so weakened that the convictions are unsafe and should be quashed and
that Samar and Jawad deserve to be freed.
If you wish to help in any way with the campaign, or would like to find out
more information, please contact us at:
Freedom and Justice for Samar and Jawad
PO Box BM FOSA
London WC1N 3XX
Website: www.freesaj.co.uk
email:postmaster@freesaj.org.uk
In addition to Samar and
Jawad's families and their large and diverse groups of friends, the list of
supporters of the campaign now includes:
Tony Benn MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Lynne Jones MP, Andrew Faulds, Gareth Peirce,
Sister Sarah Clarke, the Haldane Society, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign,
branches of the Transport and General Workers Union and of the Socialist Labour
Party, the Westminster Teachers' Association, the East London Teachers' Association,
Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, the Arab Lawyers Network, The Co- ordination
Forum of the NGOs Working Among the Palestinian community in Lebanon and many,
many concerned members of the public in Britain.
