Many prison readers of FRFI will also have been in receipt of the newsletter Inside Out, produced and distributed by the Birmingham based Miscarriages of Justice UK (MOJUK). Readers outside prison with an interest in the struggles of prisoners and iniquities of the ‘criminal justice system’ may have been in receipt of MOJUK’s meticulously compiled, regularly distributed and highly informative email bulletins.
MOJUK was essentially the work of one man, the enigmatically named John O, who had been active in left politics in Birmingham since the 1970s. In the 2000s he was employed by the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns, until forced into retirement, after which he threw all his energies into running MOJUK, a campaign primarily for wrongfully convicted prisoners, but also in solidarity with all prisoners.
John was a dedicated campaigner against injustice. He attended many of the prison protests called by Pauline Campbell against the deaths of women prisoners and was a longstanding friend and supporter of many wrongfully convicted prisoners, including Satpal Ram, who was the person who contacted us in early March to tell us:
‘It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I wish to convey the passing of John O the founder of MOJUK. I’ve known John O for over three decades, his unwavering commitment and support for those wrongfully convicted was testament to his strength of character. He championed the plight of refugees and was a tenacious critic of the penal system. Sadly, John O lost his battle to cancer. I had been visiting John O for the last two years. It was during my monthly visit that I went to his house in Lozell’s and discovered that his mail was left unopened, and there was a dried bunch of flowers on his doorstep. Deeply concerned I knocked on his door without any response. Determined to find out what had happened to him, I knocked on the neighbour’s door where I learned that John O had passed away over three weeks ago. John O was 85 years of age and a real giant amongst titans.’
We send our sympathies and solidarity to John’s family and friends. His commitment to the struggle of prisoners will be sorely missed.
John O Remembered
