Ronnie Easterbrook – “Britain's oldest political prisoner” - on Death Fast

The following post was written by Brighton ABC
Ronnie Easterbrook is a 78year old career criminal, who is serving a 'whole life' tariff sentence after a failed armed robbery in 1987. Following his recent transferred to Gartree prison in Leicestershire, he has decided to try one last hunger strike to highlight his claims for a retrail.

Ronnie, from south London, was convicted in 1988 of the attempted murder of a policeman during an armed robbery that was set up by the police and in which the only person who died was his fellow would-be robber who was shot dead by the police. Through information from an informant, Police had lain in wait, with a TV camera crew in-tow and ambushed the gang. The man shot dead by the Police, Tony Ash, was unarmed and already surrendering to them.

Ronnie has campaigned relentlessly since then for his conviction to be overturned, refusing to become involved in applications for parole or early release. He had wanted to mount a political defence at his trial, arguing that the infamous 'shoot to kill' policy adopted by the British state in Northern Ireland had now been taken up by the Met. Police in pursuit of criminal gangs. However his barrister at the time refused to follow his instructions and Ronnie himself refused a prosecution deal, so he was forced to defend himself in court, without legal representation.

Handed down a Life sentence (originally with a whole-life tariff, itself highly unusual given the circumstances of his case), Ronnie held one of the longest dirty protests in the British prison system and undertook a 60 day hunger strike 10 years ago to try to force the authorities to review his case. Now at 78 years old this hunger strike, after 20 years fighting the system, is likely to be his final act of resistance to the unfair trial and unjust treatment he has received. Physically weakened by previous protests and in ill health (he only has one lung), Ronnie has made an advance directive/living will to refuse any medical intervention in this hunger strike. He writes:

"Many will say: ' Well he is only a criminal.' True but if the protective aspects of the law do not apply to me, it follows that there is no law. Hitler started by excluding sections of the German populations from protection of the law. State evil can always find 'reasons' disguised as righteousness. "After 20 years inside, I have been held a political prisoner, or a prisoner of politics. I refuse to go through a parole process. Why should I when the authorities, Home Office and Judiciary, know they are holding me illegally?"
It's vital that all efforts are made to get the authorities to re-open Ronnie's case so the callous indifference shown by the powerful to one of the powerless is reversed.

Ronnies sentence was reduced twice, from whole life to 16 years and from 16 to 12 and a half years. As he went to prison in 1988 his tariff expired in 2000. Ronnie refuses to participate in the parole process, saying like many other prisoners who consider they are wrongfully convicted, that he is only prepared to leave prison by the front door.

Write to him at;
Ronnie Easterbrook (B58459)
HMP Gartree
Gallow Field Road
Market Harborough
Leicestershire
LE16 7RP

Jacqui Smith, MP
Secretary of State for the Home Office
3rd Floor, Peel Buildings
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF
Fax: 020 8760 3132
e-mail: smithjj@parliament.uk

Also to local MP for Market Harborough:
Edward Garnier QC MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
e-mail: garniere@parliament.uk

Tel:
020 7219 4034 or
020 7219 6524
Fax:
020 7219 2875

Letter from Sean Kirtley

Below is a letter received from Sean Kirtley sent to Cardiff ABC to be used as an article for Gagged! More info about Sean's case can be found here http://supportsean.wordpress.com and you can write to him at this address: Sean Kirtley WC 6977, HMP Stafford, 54 GAOL RD, Stafford, ST16 3AW (remember to send a SAE with your letter)

At 7:00am on May 9^th 2006 police raided nine homes across the midlands and subsequently arrested twelve activists over a 48 hour period. The door on my house had been so violently battered that there was only two shards of wood hanging of the remaining hinges. Police arrested me and spent nine hours searching the premises while my partner remained in the house, not pleasant at all. A megaphone, banners, thousands of leaflets, mobile phones, computer, digital camera, clothes, letters, discs were all seized as evidence of my involvement in the campaign against Sequani animal testing lab in Herefordshire. The others that were raided all had similar property seized.

After being charged and bailed for almost two years the case went to court in January 08 at Birmingham crown court. Seven of us were charged with ‘conspiracy to interfere with an animal research organisation’ and put on trail.

The bulk of the evidence against me related to the stop Sequani animal testing website, which I ran and my use of PGP email encryption and other privacy tools that were on my PC. It was suggested that I organised demos outside Sequani and companies that did business with Sequani although the SSAT website had a policy of not advertising demos! It was then suggested because of the amount of phone calls between myself and other defendants (phone logs submitted by the relevant telephone providers) that I must also have been ‘organising’ over the telephone. Even though the defendants were friends and friends call each other to chat and socialise. Even if I had been organising demos all were peaceful affairs anyway usually involving a mega phone or two and plenty of placards.

After an 18 week trial where the jury were bussed in from a secret location, the press and other reporters were banned from covering the case, police were ‘on guard’ outside the courtroom, where supporters were banned from wearing any animal welfare logos on clothing, the merest mention of experiments on animals at Sequani was outlawed. I was the only one to be found guilty of conspiracy after the jury had been out for many days deliberating. My appeal against sentence and conviction was launched on June 20^th this year and has yet to be heard.

I was remanded to Winson Green prison in Birmingham on May 14^th and sentenced at Coventry crown court on May 30^th 08. The judge called me ‘a sinister criminal’ who ‘ has done nothing for my cause’ sentenced me to four and a half years in prison and imposed a five year supper ASBO on my release in August 2010 banning me from Herefordshire and from contacting Sequani for the duration.

The unlawful action that contravened section 145 SOCPA mentioned during the trial were:

· Lengthy and informative faxes had been sent to suppliers of Sequani during demos, there was no evidence to suggest that I or any other defendants had sent these faxes.

· Aggravated trespass had taken place at demos by defendants (including myself) standing in the car parks of suppliers even though there were police present, also entering buildings but leaving when asked to.

· Sequani workers, and workers of companies that supply Sequani had been ‘upset’ by the demos also a few neighbours in the vicinity of the lab had been ‘upset’ by the demos.

During prosecution evidence being given there was no suggestion that any ‘home demos’ or direct action’ had been at Sequani or its workers.

This was a campaign that had ‘upset’ those that are licensed by the home office to experiment on innocent, defenceless animals and because of that ‘upset’ I sit here in my cell writing this short recall of how I ended up here.

I’ve always fought for the oppressed whether human or non human, either by encouraging mutual aid or exposing the truth regarding the way we treat other sentient beings for our own selfish ends.

The support and outrage, inside and outside, continues to be brilliant, from supporters, family and friends and continues to get my through this time of repression.

‘If you aren’t being effective at changing the world for the better, they aren’t interested, if you are, be careful. The Future of the world is in your hands.’

In Solidarity.

Sean Kirtley