Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

London picket in support of John Bowden and ABC

Brighton ABC | 09.06.2007 11:21 | Repression

England and Wales Parole Board HQ picketed in support of John Bowden and the Anarchist Black Cross




As part of the ongoing International campaign in support of John Bowden and his parole application and against the ludicrous labelling of him and the Anarchist Black Cross network as "terrorists", a picket of the Parole Board HQ at Grenadier House in Horseferry Road was held yesterday, Friday 8th June.

John Bowden is a long-term prisoner and renown prison resister who has consistently refused to bow down to prison authorities throughout his 25 years of incarceration despite constant brutalisation by the screws in all the nicks that he has had the bad fortune to visit at 'her majesty's pleasure'.

He has served his original 25 years sentencing tariff and had, for the past 2 years, been on both day release in the community from Castle Huntly open prison, working with mentally and physically vulnerable people, and on weekend home leave without any problem. With his parole hearing approaching for possible release on ‘life license’, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) decided to employ the services of a social worker from outside the prison service to write a report on John’s suitability for release. It seems that they had decided that they couldn’t trust one of their own to compile an ‘objective’ report and claimed that John had formed an ‘inappropriate’ bond with his previous social worker. Shit, we can’t have prison service workers actually liking and respecting prisoners.

So SPS chose Matt Stillman, a reactionary American social worker from Perth & Kinross Social Services Department, to write the report. And his sole interest in John’s suitability for release was his politics and his links to Brighton ABC prisoner support group. This report labelled Brighton ABC as appearing “to be primarily eco-terrorists or para-military members involved in what they see as battles against political systems and principles.” The release of this report to the public resulted in sensationalist headline in the local Dundee Evening Telegraph and Courier and John being returned to Category C conditions in HMP Glenlochil.

Another consequence has been an International campaign of support for John Bowden and the Anarchist Black Cross network. SPS have been bombarded with phone calls, faxes, letter and e-mails. Glenochil prison has even had to set up a special system to divert incoming calls in support of John.

Friday 25th May saw an International day of action in support of John and the ABC, with actions around the world including a demonstration, organised by Leeds ABC outside the Scottish Parliament, which attracted 25 people. As a consequence of the publicity generated by the Edinburgh action, the prison authorities have threatened John with another move as punishment.

Although smaller than the recent Edinburgh demonstration [lots of people are at the G8 remember], the London picket managed to attract support from as far away as South Wales and, being outside Channel 4 HQ too, a lot of public attention. Nearly a thousand ‘Hands off John Bowden’ leaflets and copies of Active Solidarity, Brighton ABC’s occasional newsletter [current edition highlighting John’s case] were distributed. Unfortunately, the picket had to be organised under SOCPA conditions [within 1km of Parliament] and was subject to a strict time limit and the usual petty conditions – no hanging of banners from the barriers used to pen demonstrators in with – “ They are council property and they wont allow you to do that.”

Thank you to everyone who has seen through the state’s lies to support John Bowden and defend the Anarchist Black Cross. Further actions to be announced soon.


Some Ways You Can Help:

Find out more at: www.myspace.com/friendsofjohnbowden

Send a postcard reading ‘Hands Off John Bowden!’ to Scottish Prison Service HQ, Communications Branch, Room 338, Calton House, 5 Redheughs Rigg, Edinburgh, EH12 9HW. You can also e-mail them at  gaolinfo@sps.gov.uk Phone them on 01259 760471. Or fax them at 01259 762003.

Write to Glenochil prison, where John is being held: Audrey Parks, Governor, HMP Glenochil, King O' Muir Road, Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, FK10 3AD. Telephone: 01259 760471. Fax: 01259 762003.

Complain to the Care Commission about the lies being told by Matt Stillman, who is employed by Perth & Kinross Social Services: The Care Commission, Headquarters, Compass House, 11 Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4NY. Telephone: 01382 207100. Fax: 01382 207289.

Send John a card or letter of support: John Bowden, 6729, HMP Glenochil, King O' Muir Road, Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, FK10 3AD.

Become involved in the support campaign for John by e-mailing  handsoffjohn@reborn.com

Brighton ABC
- e-mail: brightonabc@yahoo.co.uk
- Homepage: http://brightonabc.org.uk

Comments

Display the following 6 comments

  1. London anarchos, where were you? — gobshite
  2. pissing in the wind — on the fence
  3. The Daily Mail Mindset — Fabric Dressing
  4. re: london anarchos — k
  5. An ABC opinion — Joe B
  6. re: london anarchos — Danny
Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech