January 98 – July 98 – January 99 – September 99 – March 00 – August 00 November 00 – September 01 – November 01 – June 02 February 03 – July 03 – April 04 – February 05 – Current April 1999

Application for leave to appeal hearing 10 May Open to the public. We urge supporters to attend the hearing and the picket at the Royal Courts of Justice, the Strand, London WC2 (nearest tube Holborn) Appeal Judges to spend 6 and 7 May "reading" the PII material Legal developments: non-disclosure is in breach of human rights! The government continues to suppress information in the interests of so-called national security! March 15th – Judges agree to PII certificates signed by Jack Straw. At the PII hearing regarding the Shayler material the appeal judges agreed to the implementation of the gagging orders. The next day, Mrs Peirce was informed that the PII certificates had been signed by the Home Secretary on 8 May 1998. Nothing was given to the defence. However, the failure of the CPS to follow the procedure and give formal notice that it had obtained the PII allowed the defence to address this procedural point and to postpone the application for leave to appeal March 29th & 30th – Defence finally get to argue in court against the cover up. The hearing allowed the defence for the first time to address the issue of non-disclosure and to oppose the PIIs. The defence began by explaining to the judges the main issues at the trial, pointing out that several PII certificates were used before and during the trial, one of these signed by the Foreign Secretary. The extensive and complex legal arguments can be summarised as follows: The Shayler material, and probably other hidden information, goes to the heart of the prosecution’s scenario, and contradicts what the jury and the judge were asked to look at. They were told that the London bombings were carried out by a home-based group of few disgruntled Palestinians, and that there was an "intelligence vacuum" as to other possibilities. The defence maintains that an "intelligence vacuum" is even more unlikely in the light of other material that has come into the public domain since the trial. That material concerns international incidents preceding and following the London bombings, and points to groups, intelligence services, or governments capable of and interested in mounting such "professional" attacks. The non-disclosure of information, including that revealed by Shayler, has directly undermined the fairness of the trial and the safety of the convictions. Using the recent unanimous ruling of the European Commission on the M25 case (Rowe and Davies), the defence submitted that to continue to withhold this information is in breach of Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) which guarantees a ‘fair and public hearing’, and is on its own a ground of appeal. The courts and the prosecution are now expected to take decisions, including those on disclosure, in a way that is compatible with the 1998 Human Rights Act and the ECHR. The prosecution’s position remained unchanged: The Shayler material is covered by the PII hearing. All relevant material held by the Foreign or Home Office is capable of being covered by the May 1998 PII certificate. Nothing has come to light since the trial. One cannot change English law as it stands or anticipate Parliament’s incorporation of the ECHR; the Commission’s decisions are not binding. Any such interpretation will be strongly resisted. The appeal court is capable of assessing the fairness of non-disclosure. The judges decided to recall the CPS and look at the material shown to them again. The defence offered them two options: disclosure and/or appeal. The judges retired to give their decision after the Easter break. We are now told that the judges will be reconsidering the PII material on 6 and 7 May. The application for leave to appeal will presumably be held on 10 May. The campaign continues to gather strength In the UK, around 150 people, British and Arab, from various part of England attended the launch meeting for the campaign booklet ‘Justice Denied’. We estimate that at least 1000 letters of protest and concern were submitted (900 letters were gathered by the campaign in South East England), including representations from 33 MPs, 2 Lords, and 2 MEPs. Even more spectacular results were obtained abroad. 2,500 letters were sent from the West Bank and Gaza to the Home Secretary, Director of Public Prosecutions, and Attorney General. The campaign there was led by the Palestinian Council for Human Rights Organisations, and covered all the NGOs network, and main universities. A further 50 letters signed by 50 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council were delivered to the British Consulate. In Lebanon, 140 leading personalities signed 3 letters each to the above-mentioned addressees. They included 3 ex-prime ministers; 23 MPs, 3 cabinet members, government officials, human rights activists, academics, journalists, artists, professionals, students, etc. An Arabic version of the booklet "Justice Denied" was launched at a very large public meeting on 22/3/99. There was a spontaneous decision by the meeting to picket of British Foreign Office Minister, Mr Fatchett, who was due to meet with the Lebanese Prime Minister the following day. So large was the picket on 23 March that Mr Fatchett asked to meet a delegation. The delegation expressed to the Minister their concern in particular about the withholding of evidence by the British authorities, which was interfering with the legal process and with Samar and Jawad’s ability to clear their names. The Prime Minister seconded the concerns and asked for the results of enquiries to be disclosed. Media attention continues Media attention has continued to grow in the British press. The Shayler material and developments in the case were discussed in: The Independent on 15/3/99, The Guardian on 22/3/99; 27/3/99; and 31/3/99; and The Observer on 28/3/99. A further two reviews of the case appeared in Middle East International issue of 12/3/99, in the Palestine Solidarity (issue no.79, February-March 99), and the March bulletin of Statewatch. The interest of the Arab media in London was sustained. Al Hayat reported the court hearings on 18/3/99, 20/3/99, 30/3/99, and 31/3/99, while Al Quds summarised the events on 2/4/99. Both covered the campaign in Lebanon, which was picked up by most major Lebanese newspapers, radio, and TV stations. The UAE daily Al-Khaleej covered the book launches and events in London and Beirut. Donations Don’t forget to keep Jawad, Samar and the campaign going with practical support! Booklet – Justice Denied These have been very successful. We still have some copies if you need them at £2 each. Please send all money collected to the campaign or return unsold booklets. It is with much shock and sadness that we learned of the death on 26 February of Mrs Samiha al-Khalil, chairwoman of the biggest charity in the West Bank and of the General Union of Palestinian Women. She was truly a pillar of Palestinian society. Shortly before her death, she had urged Palestinian human rights NGOs to adopt Samar and Jawad’s case.