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August 2000 |
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listed for 24 October 2000 ACT NOW! |
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After 14 months of waiting, Samar and Jawad’s appeal against their conviction has finally been fixed to start on 24 October 2000 at the Court of Appeal, the Strand, London WC2. This has been a truly agonising wait for Samar and Jawad, and one of the worst cases in recent years. It will take place almost 3 years since the application for leave to appeal was lodged, and 4 years since the trial. The prosecution have said that they will not disclose the evidence that the defence has been asking for since November 1997. Hence, there will be a Public Interest Immunity (PII) hearing (held in camera, excluding the defence) when the CPS will be asking the appeal judges to withhold the information in the name of public interest/national security. The defence has no means to stop this procedure, and no ability to compel its production. This will considerably weaken Samar and Jawad’s ability to win their appeal, and could well condemn them to be buried alive with gagged information. Samar and Jawad need your support at this crucial moment in their fight for freedom and justice. In the run-up to the appeal, they need you to continue to protest to the authorities against the cover-up: if releasing the information is harmful to national security, then the prosecution must admit that there was a mistake and must find a speedy way to release these two innocent people. We are proposing that sponsors and supporters write to Arab ambassadors to the UK encouraging them to take up Samar and Jawad’s case and to press for an end to this miscarriage of justice. At the appeal itself, it is essential that we have a visible presence inside and outside court, particularly on the first day. The campaign will be holding a picket on the first day of the appeal, 24 October from 10:00-12:30 and from 14:00-16:00, at the Royal Court of Justice, The Strand, London WC2 (nearest tube stations Holborn and Temple). The appeal may last a couple of days or a week, and may result in a re-trial. As with the trial and the application for leave to appeal, we will organise a rota for the picket and for attending the court session. So please put these dates in your diary, and if you can commit yourself already let us know. ACT NOW TO SECURE SAMAR AND JAWAD’S RELEASE!
M25 THREE ARE FREED The Campaign joined forces with the M25-Three Justice campaign and held a very well attended public meeting on June 7th. Suresh Grover of the National Civil Rights Movement chaired the meeting. Daniel Guadella and Valerie Davies gave sketches of the cases, explaining how the non-disclosure of evidence contributed to the miscarriages. Mary Cunneen of Liberty talked about the M25 case and the European Law of Human Rights. Paul Foot reminded the audience of the holes in Samar and Jawad’s case, which go hand in hand with the fact that suppressing evidence was needed to secure their wrongful conviction. On July 17, the Court of Appeal finally quashed the convictions of the M25-Three, and accepted the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that the withholding of evidence in their case had violated their rights to a fair and open trial. We wish the Three all the best in their attempts to reconstruct their lives after their prolonged ordeal. MARCH FOR THE RIGHT TO RETURN - 17 SEPTEMBER On September 17 2000, a march will take place in Trafalgar Square, London, in support of the right of Palestinian refugees to return. A parallel march will also be held in Washington D.C.
END THE COVER UP! |