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| Justice for Mark Barnsley - CAMPAIGN
BULLETIN - WINTER 2000 4th November 2000
YOU CAN CONTACT THE CAMPAIGN AT THE FOLLOWING:
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| MARK MOVED TO HMP FRANKLAND.
On 13th of September 00, Mark Barnsley was transferred to HMP Frankland. Mark is currently amongst the general prison population (not in segregation) at HMP Frankland and is now much closer to his family and friends in the North of England. For those of you unfamiliar with Mark's recent treatment in prison; in April this year Mark was beaten up by screws, along with 6 other prisoners while at HMP Long Lartin and charged with 'barricading a cell' (see previous bulletins for details). After being unlawfully segregated and then 'ghosted' (regularly moved from prison to prison) for nearly 5 months he was briefly moved to Wakefield prison early in September where an 'adjudication' (internal Prison Service 'kangaroo court') was held over the incident. The governor of Long Lartin was present at all of the prisoners' adjudications. Long Lartin screws blatantly lied about what had happened and Mark was subsequently found guilty of 'barricading a cell door'. The result being that he will spend an extra 3 weeks in prison through lost remission. In their eagerness to rush this process through, HMP Long Lartin have acted unlawfully throughout, withholding evidence (including CCTV video footage of the incident) from the prisoners' lawyers which would show clearly that Mark and the other prisoners were in fact locked in a cell and then beaten by screws. Whilst at Wakefield Mark was refused legal assistance and advice, refused access to law books and access to a current copy of the Prison Discipline Manual, refused an adjournment pending judicial review, refused witnesses and denied legal phone-calls. In the long term though we are confident that this guilty verdict will be overturned and the widespread brutality and systematic ill-treatment of prisoners at Long Lartin exposed. Mark and the Justice for Mark Barnsley Campaign would like to thank
everyone who responded to our call for support over the last months. Your
letters, faxes, e-mails and phone calls to government and prison officials
over Mark's ill-treatment have certainly sent a clear message that this
won't go unchallenged.
COMEDIAN MARK THOMAS JOINS THE CAMPAIGN TO FREE MARK BARNSLEY.
After he was attacked by a group of drunken students the police arrested Mark. Ask yourself would a man out with a friend and his baby attack 15 odd drunken students ? Ask yourself would you think it a fair trial if the judge refused to allow evidence, that proved some of the students had committed perjury, to be presented in front of the jury? Ask yourself if the victim of an attack is the person to put on trial? Ask yourself why Mark got 12 years for supposedly wounding his attackers and yet other far greater crimes receive shorter sentences? The police, the students, the local press and the judge by their actions have entered into a conspiracy to deprive an innocent man of his freedom. Mark's crime is to be a local activist and working class. To the judge and the police the attack on Mark meant they could get rid of someone they saw as undesirable. The actions of the state have made Mark Barnsley a political prisoner. I support the campaign to free Mark Barnsley." Mark Thomas.
MOJO Benefit Gig - London 21st December
The Next Time You're Strip-Searched, Insulted, Humiliated, Threatened, Assaulted. In a prominent place in every British prison you will see a sign which bears the following legend: "Her Majesties' Prison Service serves the public by keeping in custody those committed by the courts. Our duty is to look after them with humanity and to help them live law abiding and useful lives in custody and after release." So remember fellow hostages, the next time you're strip-searched, insulted, humiliated, threatened, assaulted, transported around the country in a tiny steel box, made to urinate in a plastic cup, forced to eat in a toilet, or locked in a cell for 23 & a half hours out of 24, you're being treated with 'humanity'. There's so much humanity here at HMP Parkhurst, that those visitors who are able to successfully negotiate the nefarious visits booking system, and actually manage to get here, make it through the numerous searches and humiliations, and into the visiting area, may if they so wish, and have an open visit, kiss the prisoner they're visiting for 6 whole seconds! Though they should be warned that if this is misinterpreted by the over zealous custodians of humanity they may be attacked, throttled, assaulted, arrested, strip-searched, and/or ejected. All presumably with what the Prison service obscenely calls humanity. The only humanity that exists in these places is that which prisoners manage to keep alive in their hearts, the humanity that refuses to be crushed by a system that is anything but humane. As with most of the proclamations of the British Prison service, their mission statement is utter bilge. Officially, the Prison Services attitude to miscarriages of justice is an entirely impartial one, they simply exist to keep those of us committed to prison by the courts, rightly or wrongly, in lawful custody. But as every victim of a miscarriage of justice well knows, any supposed impartiality by the Prison Service on this issue is as much a falsification as the myth of their vaunted humanity. In reality, those protesting miscarriages of justice are regarded as subversive (which is fair enough in my case), they are consistently victimised, and every possible effort is made to interfere with their lawful right to contest their convictions. In my own case the victimisation started even before the cops had finished fitting me up. While I was still on remand, and on the very day that I was due to be visited by my barrister, and shortly thereafter by medical and forensic experts. I was ghosted out of Doncaster Prison to Lincoln Prison. Prior to my being moved I managed to get word to my solicitor, who faxed the prison saying that any transfer would have a highly detrimental effect on the preparation of my defence, but the fax was ignored. In terms of my defence the transfer was devastating, my London-based barrister refused to visit me altogether at Lincoln, as did the forensic experts, other reports were substantially delayed, visits from my solicitor were fewer, and of course things were made much more difficult for my family. Also, prior to the ghosting, evidence was stolen from my cell at Doncaster (along with a substantial amount of personal property.) The above was only a foretaste of what was to come after my wrongful conviction. At HMP Full Sutton, for example, legal files contained on computer disk were destroyed on more than one occasion by Security. My legal papers have frequently been ransacked and damaged, documents have been stolen, and they have been withheld from me for periods of weeks or months. Not only has legal mail been opened (contrary to Prison Rule 39) but it has been delayed, withheld, or simply disappeared altogether. And of course all legal phone calls are unlawfully monitored. In terms of my campaign, the Prison Service have done everything possible to prevent me fighting my miscarriage of justice. At HMP Full Sutton, HMP Long Lartin and HMP Cardiff, there has been a massive amount of interference with both incoming and outgoing mail. At Full Sutton, I was forbidden to write anything for publication on my case, an act which is in direct contravention of Prison Standing Order (5b). At Long Lartin, all incoming campaign material was simply stolen, even when it was sent by 'recorded delivery'. At Cardiff there was a systematic attempt to prevent me communicating with my campaign, my MP, MOJUK, and with journalists investigating my case. In this year alone I have been ghosted 4 times so far, to prisons which are ever less accessible to my family, solicitor, and in the case of HMP Parkhurst to just about everyone. I had barely got off the Category A van when I was being quizzed about my campaign. My legal papers have been withheld from me for more than 3 months, making it impossible for me to work on my case. These are just a few brief personal examples, but I know that many other miscarriage of justice victims have suffered similarly at the hands of the supposedly impartial Prison Service. Something that certainly affects every one us is the so-called incentives and earned privileges scheme, which specifically discriminates against those who continue to protest their innocence. Because we are appellant, we are entitled to less visits, less private cash, and are penalised in a whole number of other ways. Parole is another obvious area where miscarriages of justice victims are discriminated against. Such is the system that most of us will spend longer in prison than if we were guilty. Nobody should harbour any illusions that the Prison Service, as an arm of the State, is in any way fair or impartial. It is just as much a part of the crooked system as the cops, Crown Prosecution Service, and judges, and will use every dirty trick in the book to deny us justice in just the same way as its co-conspirators. We are hostages of the class war, and we should expect no favours from the hired lackeys of the opposing side. What we should be able to expect though, is at least some level of honesty, and not to have our intelligence insulted by ridiculous mission statements which fly in the face of all the evidence, and have about as much moral integrity as the notorious sign over the gates of Auschwitz proclaiming 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (Work will make you free) which I suspect Jack Straw may introduce before too long. And no doubt all in the interests of humanity. Mark Barnsley, Thursday 10th August, 00. Written whilst at HMP Parkhurst.
If you wrote to Mark at HMP Parkhurst and didn't get a reply.
Things you can send in to HMP Frankland by post.
Envelopes, postage stamps and stamped envelopes - yes / A4 writing pads - yes (best sent one at a time)/ Pamphlets - yes/ Magazines and Newspapers - Political magazines can be sent by the publisher but usually get in ok if sent by individuals./Commercial magazines must be sent by the publisher or from a newsagents/have a newsagents stamp./Books - Can be sent by the publisher, preferably one at a time./Home Recorded Cassettes - Can be sent by individuals one at a time. They must be 'see through' and have a voice message recorded on them at the beginning. Headed note paper, Clothing, spectacle frames, pocket diaries, photos, calendars, posters- yes, all can be sent in by individuals. If you're thinking of sending any of the above to Mark. Besides stamps,
stationary and reading material, It's probably best to ask him first what
he actually needs the most.
The Word Is Out. Whilst there's still no news yet regarding Mark's apllication to the CCRC, we've recently seen a welcome increase in the amount of public support and interest in Mark's case. We'd like to thank all the people who've recently helped publicise the campaign in some way, whether it be through the numerous articles in publications, web sites, handing out leaflets, speaking at events, writing to newspapers or simply discussing Mark's case with friends. Your continued support is crucial and makes it all the more difficult for the state to bury Mark in prison and sweep this miscarriage of justice under the carpet. The following is a partial list of the publications which have recently
published articles about Mark's case: Private Eye (October 6th), FRFI,
Morning Star, Tribune, Direct Action, Pulped, Inside Times, MOJUK bulletin,
Schnews, Think Globally Act Locally, Class War, London Calling, Resistance,
Counter Info, Bulletin of the Kate Sharpley Library, Bread & Roses,
The Mailout, Socialist Worker, Labour net, Perry pages, Entfesselt (Austria),
Slogan (Romania), PPWC Update(USA), Pagine In Rivolta (Italy), ABC Bulletin
(Australia).
Upcoming Campaign Events LONDON - For further details phone Nick: 08 9619808
Recently supporters in London have been busy publicising Mark's case there. Activities include a 'launch' of the new pamphlet 'Beaten Up, Fitted Up, Locked Up..' at a bookshop in August, with Paddy Hill of MOJO (Miscarriages of Justice Organisation) as guest speaker. Later, on October 14th, supporters took part in the National Civil Rights demo, handing out leaflets about Mark's case. The campaign will be going along to support Eddie Gilfoyle in December as well (see below). The next event is to be a meeting for all supporters in London to get together and discuss further campaign activities in the London area. SHEFFIELD/SOUTH YORKS. - For further details phone: 07944 51
Campaign Info. Stalls - After our successful street stalls in Sheffield during the summer, we plan to continue with them (weather permitting). They will take place on each Saturday before the campaign supporters meetings (first stall 11th November). We are also keen to hold stalls at other public events in the area, so if you're putting on a gig for example why not invite us along. To make these stalls a success we need as many volunteers as possible to help. Demand Justice for Eddie Gilfoyle ! - 9.30am - December 7th - At the Appeal Courts, London. At long last Eddies' case, one of the most outrageous miscarriages of justice in recent years, is to go before the Court of Appeal on Thursday Dec. 7th. This is Eddies' last bid for freedom so it's crucial that as many people as possible come and show solidarity outside the courts (on The Strand) on the first day. As always, other campaigns are welcomed. A coach is going down from Merseyside for the day. To book your place on this or for more details contact Eddies' Campaign: Phone Sue: 0151 6786528 or E-mail: Paul.Caddick@btinternet.com CAMPAIGN INFORMATION & RESOURCES
Please send all orders & inquiries to:
CAMPAIGN T-SHIRTS
CAMPAIGN BADGES
INFORMATION LEAFLETS
'The Truth About The Pomona Incident' - A general introduction to Mark's case based on the facts. 'The Star -Telling Lies About The Pomona Incident' - Exposes the lies printed in the local media, especially the Sheffield Star 'newspaper'. 'Mark Joins The Queue of Hope for the CCRC' - An outline of Mark's application for appeal. 'Ideas for Action'- Suggestions on ways you can get involved and help the campaign. 'Sheffield CPS & The Withheld Evidence' & 'Jane Leathborough - 00 Days On'. BEATEN UP, FITTED UP, LOCKED UP - 44 PAGE BOOKLET
NEW CAMPAIGN STICKERS
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CAMPAIGN POSTAL ADDRESS HAS CHANGED.
YOU CAN CONTACT THE CAMPAIGN AT THE FOLLOWING: Write to: Justice for Mark Barnsley - PO Box 381, Huddersfield, HD13XX.
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