Support the Gaza protest prisoners
On 13 July, 10 young men imprisoned for participating in protests on 3 and 10 January 2009 against the Israeli onslaught on Gaza appealed against the length of their sentences. Three high court judges ruled that the sentencing judge, Judge Dennis, had set the starting point for sentences too high and that he should have begun from the premise that the benchmark sentence would be 27 months, instead of 36. On this basis, and taking into consideration various other factors, the court reduced the prison terms in six cases – resulting in two immediate releases. Three further appeals were unsuccessful.
The appeal court judges were also highly critical of the lengthy delays between the protests and the court cases where demonstrators had admitted guilt immediately. Consequently, in the case of the final appellant, Mosab Al Ani, whose case was subject to massive delay following his arrest on the 3 January demonstration, the court quashed his prison sentence and substituted a community penalty. However, by the time of the appeal hearing, Mosab had already finished his custodial sentence and been released on home detention curfew (electronic tagging) so the only practical effect of the judgment was the removal of this restriction.
The hearing was well attended, with a demonstration organised by Stop the War and others outside the court, which FRFI supporters attended. However, although the case brought positive results for most of those who appealed, the verdict was much more a successful damage limitation exercise than a political victory. All the appellants had pleaded guilty to violent disorder and the case put across on their behalf centred in the main on the contention that the Gaza protests should be distinguished from other more serious incidents where greater damage was sustained and more fear caused to members of the public. The two concrete examples given were the 2001 Bradford uprising, repeatedly described as a ‘race riot’ by all sides, and the Croydon football riots, which followed England losing to France in Euro 2004. In such a hearing there was no place for any examination of the policing of the demonstrations, let alone of the Israeli massacre that had led to the protest in the first place.
In addition to those who brought this case, there are a further 12 prisoners, some of whom have appeals still to be heard. Martin Askew, who pleaded not guilty at his trial and put across a political defence, has lodged an appeal against his 18-month sentence and is waiting for an appeal judge to consider whether it can be heard by the full court.
Martin’s partner Yasmine spoke to FRFI, which has been supporting all initiatives to assist the Gaza demonstrators and highlight their situation:
‘I think the judge wanted to send him to prison; he pleaded not guilty and stood up against them. They wanted to imprison him as a deterrent, to make him think twice about protesting again, even though it won’t work. Martin protested passionately on behalf of the people in Palestine and was the voice of the voiceless. He didn’t use violence. In fact it was Martin who suffered and was injured. He moved the police barriers and he threw a baby’s shoe. Babies are getting killed in Palestine and the only thing that Martin threw was a baby shoe as a symbolic gesture.
‘The only support he is getting is from a small group of campaigners. He has also been getting some letters from supporters, saying the stand he took was right. But it’s difficult to get mail into prison. In Wormwood Scrubs, Martin got papers like Socialist Worker and Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! but in Bullingdon prison they don’t seem to have got to him.
‘Inside prison it is terrible if you consider that this is supposed to be a civilised country. Martin says that people must not believe what they see on TV about prisons being for rehabilitation as they are just for punishment.? For me, it has been very difficult to go and visit him, especially now he is in Oxfordshire. Each visit cost about £70 in trains and taxis.
‘People need to be a voice for these prisoners. It’s hard for them to write out so it’s as though they have no voice. They are not criminals but political prisoners. At the appeal it seemed that even though it worked in a way, nobody really cared about what had actually happened. Nobody put forward what the police did. So the whole thing perpetuates the Israeli war crimes. The result that the EDO people got in their trial should have happened for these demonstrators too, who also stood there for the Palestinian people and their children.’
To join the campaign in support of the Gaza protesters go to http://gazademosupport.org.uk/
Nicki Jameson
FRFI 216 August/September 2010
