Save John Bowden
From BinaryFreedom.INFO
bocracc
The reason I have chosen to make this one of our action alerts is because he is being punished in part for his online speech. He is also affiliated with an anarchist organization that I and other members of our group wish to defend.
John Bowden - Paying The Price For Speaking Out
Scottish prisoner John Bowden is being targetted and punished for
daring to voice dissent.
Supposedly we live in a 'democracy', but nowhere is the veneer of
our democracy thinner than in our prisons. John Bowden, a long-term
prisoner resister and an articulate opponent of injustice, is
currently paying the price for voicing dissent. He has been moved
from an 'open' prison at Castle Huntly in Scotland, to the high-
security Glenochil, and his very release is now under serious
threat. All because some of John's articles feature on the website
of Brighton Anarchist Black Cross (www.brightonabc.org.uk) and
because John refuses to renounce his links with the ABC, a
legitimate prisoner support organisation. The articles that appear
on the website follow, and you can read more about John's situation
by visiting the following Indymedia links:
https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/04/368208.html
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/scotland/2007/04/368509.htm
l
https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/scotland/2007/04/368913
..html
Please support John Bowden, and send a message to the SPS that
their treatment of him does not go unnoticed or uncondemned. An ABC website can be found here:
http://www.anarchistblackcross.org/
Even if you do not agree with the goals or ideals of the ABC, you can agree that his right to associate freely is being revoked. From what I understand, he is not charged with any particular crime. This is a true example of the state over-extending its power to silence political critics and opposing organizations.
How to Help:
1. Send 'Hands Off John Bowden!' cards (please send as many as possible)
to: Scottish Prison Service Headquarters, Communications Branch,
Room 338, Calton House, 5 Redheughs Rigg, Edinburgh, EH12 9HW.
2. Complain via email to gaolinfo@sps.gov.uk
3.Full complaints to the Scottish Prisons Complaints Commission at
spcc@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Letters of support John at: John Bowden, 6729, HMP Glenochil, King
O' Muir Road, Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, FK10 3AD. Scotland.
I have sent this letter, on Behalf of Binary Freedom to the Scottish Prisons Complaints Commission:
Attn Scottish Prisons Complaints Commission:
I am sending this letter on behalf of the Binary Freedom Project (binaryfreedom.info). We are seriously concerned for the health, personal safety, civil liberties, and inalienable rights of prisoner John Bowden. From what we understand, this prisoner has been asked to revoke his ties to the legal prisoner support organization "Anarchist Black Cross". This organization operates in dozens of countries internationally to help prisoners who have been imprisoned for acts of conscience. They are often subject to political pressure or illegal persecution because they are seen as enemies of the state. This is false and even though their members may believe that an anarchist revolution is the solution to the problems in the world, the organization itself does not engage in any such activities. It exists only to support prisoners. We are appalled that the Scottish Police would not only arrest and hold this man for not committing a crime, but furthermore ask him to remove his tied to the Anarchist Black Cross, a legal organization. This seriously infringes on the basic and internationally recognized right to freely associate. We will continue the fight to free this man until his human rights have been given back. I encourage you to do everything in your power to helps see that this man is released immediately and that he has his rights fully restored.
Sincerely,
Ringo Kamens
Centennial, Colorado, USA
Binary Freedom Organization
In Solidarity,
Comrade Ringo Kamens
' Update: Reply received
Dear Mr Kamens
Re: Your enquiries on Mr Bowden
We wish to clarify that our remit only extends to considering and investigating complaints we receive from prisoners in Scotland. As we have not received any complaints from Mr Bowden regarding his being downgraded we have no authorisation to investigate this issue.
Yours sincerely
VAUGHAN BARRETT
Complaints Commissioner
- Show quoted text -
-----Original Message-----
From: Ringo Kamens [1]
Sent: 04 May 2007 00:43
To: gaolinfo@sps.gov.uk; SPCC
Subject: On John Bowden
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Attn Scottish Prisons Complaints Commission:
I am sending this letter on behalf of the Binary Freedom Project
(binaryfreedom.info). We are seriously concerned for the health,
personal safety, civil liberties, and inalienable rights of prisoner
John Bowden. From what we understand, this prisoner has been asked to
revoke his ties to the legal prisoner support organization "Anarchist
Black Cross". This organization operates in dozens of countries
internationally to help prisoners who have been imprisoned for acts of
conscience. They are often subject to political pressure or illegal
persecution because they are seen as enemies of the state. This is
false and even though their members may believe that an anarchist
revolution is the solution to the problems in the world, the
organization itself does not engage in any such activities. It exists
only to support prisoners. We are appalled that the Scottish Police
would not only arrest and hold this man for not committing a crime,
but furthermore ask him to remove his tied to the Anarchist Black
Cross, a legal organization. This seriously infringes on the basic and
internationally recognized right to freely associate. We will continue
the fight to free this man until his human rights have been given
back. I encourage you to do everything in your power to helps see that
this man is released immediately and that he has his rights fully
restored.
Sincerely,
Ringo Kamens
Centennial, Colorado, USA
Binary Freedom Organization
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Reply sent
Dear Vaughan Barrett,
This issue at hand is not about John Bowden getting downgraded, and
therefore not about your authority to act on such an incident. As we
stated in our previous email, we are concerned about statements
regarding his affiliation to the "Anarchist Black Cross" political
group. We will attempt to clarify any miscommunication that have been
had as a result of the previous email, however we believe the message
was extremely clear. From our understanding, which through further
research we have found to still be correct and withstanding, you have
asked the prisoner John Bowden to break his ties with the "Anarchist
Black Cross". The "Anarchist Black Cross" or for the sake of
simplicity, the ABC, is a non-violent political organization. They
provide support (monetary, emotional, psychological, etc.) to
prisoners who they believe have been wrongly imprisoned or are
prisoners of conscience. The ABC is a completely legal organization
and would not be able to operate in as many countries as they do if
they were not. By asking prisoner Bowden to break his ties with the
ABC, you are violating his rights to free association, to hold
political views, and to freely think. Even though the decision to ask
him to break ties with the ABC may have been made in good faith
believing that the ABC was a terrorist organization, in retrospect it
should now be easy to see that it was a mistake. This is why we are
asking you to revoke such requests of prisoner Bowden, fairly
compensate him for the violations of his rights, and immediately
release him assuming there are no other charges that need to be dealt
with. Please reply to this message so we can stay updated on prisoner
Bowden's condition.
We hereby request that this communication be put in any archives that
are relevant and read at any relative meetings.
Respectfully Submitted,
Ringo Kamens
Centennial, Colorado, USA
Binary Freedom
