Urgent: Court hearings for Congolese demonstrators, witness needed. Please circulate this info!
People are now going to Court and still have no Solicitor!
WHY? We have everything in place to assist us legally even if you don’t have legal aid. THIS INFO MUST CIRCULATE. Even if the penalty is only a minor offence you still have a CRIMIMAL RECORD and that does not help the Congolese Community as a whole or individuals!
Demonstrating peacefully is a Human Right and no one should be intimidated with a police arrest.
We organised a meeting in February with BINDMANS SOLICITORS AND LONDON DEFENCE MONITORING GROUP to gather evidence and share info, and only 1 person came! We thought the service was not needed? Actually the info was not circulated. WHY? This man (enclosed picture) was beaten up did not even have a solicitor on his Court day. He got my contact only the day before, thankfully the police dropped the charges but he will now sue them and has representation.
GET TOGETHER AND CIRCULATE IMPORTANT INFO..PLEASE
1. SOLICITORS: Simon Natas: 020 8522 7707 (successful in getting legal aid)
2. LEGAL DEFENCE MONITORING GROUP : They will assist support people who represent themselves in court (this is called being a MACKENZIE FRIEND) http://www.ldmg.org.uk, email: ldmg@yahoo.co.uk, or email or text me and I’ll pass them your details : shana@africalives.org 07986 99 72 22
3. WITNESS: We need to find witnesses to arrests on All the demonstrations: if you know of anyone who saw the way the police were behaving, get in touch could you ask if they’d be willing to talk to Simon? This is probably the most important & urgent task at the moment. Please contact Simon Natas: 020 8522 7707
THANK YOU!
