Seeking Justice For Ian Tomlinson

On April 1st 2009 an English newspaper vendor was on his way home from work when he came across an area containing a number of G20 protestors and riot police. Around 19.30 he collapsed in the street and died.

The Police initially reported that he had died of a heart attack. Allegations started to emerge that he had been assaulted by police before his death and a statement was released by Police stating that they had had no interaction with him prior to his collapse. A week later a video was obtained by The Guardian newspaper from a New York man who had been in London on business. The footage (above) show Ian Tomlinson walking in front of riot police and dog handlers, walking away from them. One officer then struck his legs from behind with a baton and pushed him to the ground. The footage shows this was an unprovoked attack on an innocent passerby who minutes later collapsed and died.

The first autopsy result confirmed the cause of death as being a heart attack. Dr. 'Freddy' Patel is currently suspended from duty pending an investigation by the General Medical Council and faces at least 26 charges of inappropriate conduct related to 4 other cases. The second autopsy was performed at the request of The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and of Ian Tomlinson's family. It returned the cause of death as being internal bleeding resulting from a blow to the abdomen with complications caused by psorosis of the liver. A third autopsy was requested by the defence and this returned the same verdict as the second one.

Other videos by passersby and journalists have also been made public of the incident but The IPCC claimed that no CCTV cameras existed in the area where the assault had taken place. A newspaper later published pictures of 6 CCTV cameras in the area and the statement was withdrawn by The IPCC. The officer who struck Ian Tomlinson has recently been named as PC Simon Harwood and The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has taken until very recently to make a decision on whether or not to prosecute him.

The CPS announced on July 22nd that there would be no prosecution in the case as the differing opinions in the 3 autopsy results made it too difficult to determine the true cause of death and therefore to bring a case against the officer in question. PC Harwood is facing a disciplinary hearing for gross misconduct.

A picket against The Department Of Public Prosecution (DPP) has been arranged for Friday 30th July and pickets will also be carried out throuhout the UK in support. Those wishing to attend the London picket should be at The Office of Department of Public Prosecution,Rose Court, 2 Southwark Bridge, SE1 9HS at 12 noon. Those unable to attend can look for a protest in their area, or just do one yourself or with some friends. Those unable to do that can show their support in the way that I will be. Change your avatar picture to a picture of Ian Tomlinson for 1 day, and tell everyone you speak to his story.

RIP Ian Tomlinson. Justice must be had.

STOP the STONING of Sakine Mohammadi! UPDATE

Via Stop the Stoning Of Sakine Mohammadi:

Confirmed PROTESTS this weekend -

LONDON, England: Friday July 2, 18:00-21:00 outside the Islamic Republic Embassy, 16 Prince’s Gate, London SW7 1PT, تلفن اطلاعات: 07515732665

KÖLN (Cologne), Germany: Sunday July 4, Mourning Mothers will gather at the Church Door in the City Center at 11am to protest the threatened executions of Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani and Zeinab Jalalian.

TORONTO, Canada: Sunday July 4, Community Fair at the Toronto Pride Week festivities; activities will consist of handing out flyers and talking to the community about stopping the stoning of Sakine. (more details forthcoming)

WASHINGTON DC, United States: Friday July 2, 6:00pm outside the Islamic Republic Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy, 2209 Wisconsin Ave NW. Walk to DuPont Circle to read demands and share information with the community about Sakine Mohammadi, Zeinab Jalalian, and removing the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women
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You too can set up an event on Friday in your town. 
Contact:

+491775692413

http://stopstonningnow.com/sakine 
http://missionfreeiran.wordpress.com/
http://iransolidarity.org.uk/

Brent Lee Regan At The One Law For All Rally

Shalom!

This past weekend marked my debut appearance as an AIM Poet/Emcee at the One Law For All: Rally Against Shariah And Religious Laws organized by Human Rights Campaigner Maryam Namazie. First I would like to say that I was really pleased to finally get to meet some of the other AIM members, they all seemed humble and kind but also very passionate and active... my kind of people! It was also a great experience performing with Lilith, meeting Maryam and generally taking part in the entire protest and march. It was an interesting and eye opening afternoon to say the least...

Originally scheduled for Trafalgar Square, the protest was relocated by Police to Russell Terrace (at the junction of Whitehall & Downing Street) due to Al-Muhajiroun planning to counter-protest our event. When Subsonic and I arrived, I noticed that there were indeed two protests going on... The police had set up two gated sections and divided them with a police van for each group to hold their protest in.

This simple set up of protest and counter-protest was soon met by opposition in the form of the EDL who turned up to hurl abuse from across the street at Al-Muhajiroun. The Police eventually detained them but not before moving them across the street... next to us, and essentially creating a Fascist sandwich with Freedom filling.. lol! As both groups continued to hurl their negative energy at each other - with ourselves trapped in the middle, I must say the Police did a good job of clearing up the chaos and ensuring our safety all day. As I watched the news clip from RT, I couldn't help but laugh at the lady who spoke on behalf of the EDL when she said that they had actually come to support and join our protest "because we want one law for all.." - watch her smile as she says it.. what a liar, too funny.

Anyway.. after that, the protest continued and some great speakers including Women's Rights activist Yasmin Rehman, Naomi Phillips from the Humanist Society, MC Fariborz Pooya from The Iranian Secular Society, Maryam Namazie and more addressed the crowds. Unfortunately due to the venue change and news that the counter-protest was going to be joined by yet another protest, by a group that was already on a march and were allegedly anti-fascists but seemed to all be shouting Allah hu'Akbar and showing their support for Al-Muhajiroun... the rally was cut short and Subsonic and I were not able to perform the full set, which was a bummer but the day was in no way a waste!

We were then poised to go home as we had decided beforehand not to join the march... until we got to Parliament square, walked around it once and saw the precession heading in the direction we were going and I convinced Subsonic to join the march "as we're going that way anyway.." I said, lol.. and so we marched. On to the Iranian Embassy!

I promptly then volunteered myself to help carry one of the long "One Law For All" banners through the center of London, displaying it proudly to the shoppers and tourists until we reached the Iranian Embassy where sadly my blog ends. I wasn't able to stick around for the last part of the protest and had to get on the bus to start heading home. It was a brilliant experience which I'm very happy to have been a part of, both as Brent Lee Regan and as a representative of the AIM... I can't wait for the next event!

Shalom shalom! BLR out!

We Are All Neda

Dearest Neda,

It has been a year since you were cruelly taken from your friends, from your family and from those you loved, and much has happened in that time. I cannot begin to tell it all but there are some things that we around the world who know of you wish to be able to share with you.

If I were to be speaking to you now I would have many things to say to you.

I would say sorry. Not because I caused it, but because I feel it. Sorry for the life you were forced to live, that it was one of oppression, inequality and fear. Sorry for your death, for the pain and fear that it caused you and that it left behind for your family. Sorry that your family were afterwards forced from their home and your fiance forced into hiding out of fear. Sorry that your grave was desecrated, your headstone removed, bullets fired into your portrait to destroy it.
Most of all, sorry for the many others who shared your fate in having such a life and such a death, and who continue to share that fate.

I would also say you did not die in vain. Your struggle is no longer hidden, no longer only for the people of Iran, no longer unknown to the rest of us in this world. For this I would say thank you. You certainly did not plan to, but you brought Iran into the world's consciousness. You have galvanised your people into revolution. You have inspired us all to stand, to march, to rally, to shout, to protest, to demand.

Your death has been seen by many, and you are in the hearts of revolutionaries and supporters of equality and freedom all over the world. Though of little comfort, you have given the Iranian people such spirit and determination that the only possible outcome is their success in your quest. Your death has ensured that the people of not just Iran, but of the world, are united in this battle. Men and women of all ages, all races, all religions and all nationalities stand together in solidarity and raise their collective voice to demand freedom for your people in Iran. We stand together today to demand this in your name, and in the name of all those many others who have given their time, their efforts, their freedom, and like you, their lives.

I did not know you, and I will not pretend otherwise. But I feel that I do. I never used to be especially political, as you never used to be, but I saw an injustice as you did, and I feel compelled to stand against it as you did. But I have what you wanted. I have freedom, I have equality, I have peace, I have security. And I shall not take it for granted. You saw a revolution of your people in your country, and now today, we see a revolution of many people in many countries. You demanded that the people's vote be counted, and now we all demand that the people's vote be counted. And we shall not be stopped., not until what I have has been given to your people in Iran, as you wanted for them.

I would speak these words to you on my behalf, but also on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people across the globe who remember you today, who never knew you but will never forget you. Until everyone has those basic things that you stood up and asked for on this day one year ago...until then, we are all Neda.

Notes:

Neda was one of 18 protesters killed that day.

Neda's death was not initially reported via the state controlled Iranian media.

Images and video footage of Neda's death spread virally across the internet via YouTube and Twitter.

The Head of IRI Broadcasting claims that the videos of Neda's death are all fakes made by BBC and/or CNN.

The IRI Ambassador to Mexico suggested the CIA were involved in Neda's death.

IRI state media claims that a group of protesters faked the video and that Neda was later murdered by her accomplices.

No memorial was permitted for Neda and mourners were not permitted to gather together in public.

Crowds of protesters and mourners were dispersed with live ammunition and tear gas by IRI riot police.

New Report: “Sharia Law in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights”

Maryam Namazie protesting for One Law For All

This press release was issued by Maryam Namazie of One Law For All. The AIM will be attending their Rally Against Sharia and Religious Laws in London on June 20. Please join us if you can.

A new report by One Law for All has found Sharia Councils and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals to be in violation of UK law, public policy and human rights. See report here.

The report is being launched to coincide with a 20 June 2010 rally on the issue of Sharia law. It makes many references to the situation in Iran.

Based on an 8 March 2010 Seminar on Sharia Law, research, interviews, and One Law for All case files, the report has identified a number of problem areas:

- Sharia law’s civil code is arbitrary and discriminatory against women and children in particular. With the rise in the acceptance of Sharia courts, discrimination is being further institutionalised with some UK law firms additionally offering clients advice on Sharia law and the use of collaborative law.

- Sharia law is practiced in Britain primarily by Sharia Councils and Muslims Arbitration Tribunals. Both operate on religious principles and are harmful to women although Muslim Arbitration Tribunals are wrongly regarded as being of more concern because they operate as tribunals under the Arbitration Act 1996, making their rulings binding in law.

- Sharia Councils, on the other hand, claim to mediate on family issues but in practice often this differs little from arbitration: they frequently ask those appearing before them to sign an agreement to abide by their decisions; they call themselves courts, and the presiding imams, judges. Their decisions are then imposed and regarded as having the weight of legal judgements.

- There is neither control over the appointment of “judges” in Sharia Councils or Tribunals nor an independent mechanism for monitoring them. Clients often do not have access to legal advice and representation. The proceedings are not recorded, nor are there any searchable legal judgements, nor any real right of appeal.

- Sharia law cannot be compared to secular legal systems because it is considered sacred law that cannot be challenged. There is no scope to look at the interests of the individuals involved, as required by UK family law.

- These legal processes ignore both common law and due process, far less Human Rights, and provide little protection and safety for women in violent situations.

- There is a general assumption that those who attend Sharia courts do so voluntarily and that unfair decisions can be challenged in a British court. Many of the principles of Sharia law are contrary to British law and public policy, and would in theory therefore be unlikely to be upheld in a British court. In reality, however, women are often pressured by their families into going to these courts and adhering to unfair decisions, and may lack knowledge of English and their rights under British law. Moreover, refusal to settle a dispute in a Sharia court can give rise to threats and intimidation, or at best being ostracised.

According to Maryam Namazie, spokesperson of the One Law for All Campaign and an author of the report, “The existence of a parallel legal system that is denying a large section of the British population their fundamental human rights is scandalous. Our findings show that it is essential to abolish all religious courts in the UK. Their very existence and legitimisation puts pressure on vulnerable women not to assert their civil rights in a British court. As long as Sharia Councils and Tribunals are allowed to continue to make rulings on issues of family law, women will be pressured into accepting decisions which are prejudicial to them and their children.”

The report recommends that Sharia courts be closed on the grounds that they work against rather than for equality, and are incompatible with human rights. Recommendations include:
1. initiating a Human Rights challenge to Muslim Arbitration Tribunals and/or Sharia Councils
2. amending the Arbitration Act under which the Muslim Arbitration Tribunals operate in a similar way to which the Canadian equivalent of the Arbitration Act was amended in 2005 to exclude religious arbitration
3. launching a major and nationwide helpline and information campaign to inform people of their rights under British law
4. proposing legislation under the EU Citizens Rights Initiative to address the issue EU-wide, and
5. strengthening secularism and the separation of religion from the state, the judicial system and education, in order to more fully protect citizenship rights.

The full report can be downloaded here.

Notes:

1. The report can be downloaded free of charge or a paperback copy purchased from One Law for All for £5.00 plus £2.00 Shipping and Handling. To purchase the book or donate to the work of One Law for All, please either send a cheque to our address below or pay via Paypal.

2. The One Law for All Campaign was launched on 10 December 2008, International Human Rights Day, to call on the UK Government to recognise that Sharia and religious courts are arbitrary and discriminatory against women and children in particular and that citizenship and human rights are non-negotiable.

3. For further information contact:
Maryam Namazie
Spokesperson
One Law for All
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731
onelawforall@gmail.com
www.onelawforall.org.uk