Kevan Thakrar: The Persecution Never Stops

The Crown Prosecution Service didn't get him but Prison Officers' Association might!

Though Kevan was found not guilty on all charges of attempted murder and wounding with intent of three prison officers. The Prison Officers' Association (POA) has been decrying the verdict, since the minute it was announced.

According to BBC News Tyne & Wear, 'The Prison Officers' Association (POA) said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had let prison staff down who faced "dangerous situations". It said it was consulting lawyers about a private prosecution against Thakrar. "Steve Gillan, General Secretary of the POA, said: "We are disappointed by this decision of the crown court and will do everything we can to protect our members, many of whom regularly face dangerous situations caused by the actions of violent criminals. "The POA is of the opinion that there is something wrong with the court system when a convicted murderer admits he attacked prison officers but is then acquitted after he is charged in relation to this offence, regardless of his emotional or mental state at the time."

The attack on the verdict has been led by David Thompson who was governor at HMP Frankland at the time of the incident. Who has made his feelings known to the world, he made a lengthy statement. ""I should remind everyone that these officers and every member of staff at Frankland and the prison service in general are public servants. Their work is out of sight but it requires the highest level of professionalism, courage and conviction. It is often unseen and under-reported. They deserve better recognition and they deserve better support than we have seen from the outcome of this case. Prison officers have to deal with the country's most difficult and most dangerous individuals and they have to perform those duties within the confines of the law. They are not above the law, nor should they be. In this case, other criminal justice professionals have been amazed by how professional and restrained they were in dealing with the assailant immediately after the incident."

Mr. Thompson went on to say the injured officers were "decent people, they are not the sort of people who deserve to find themselves in this terrible, hurtful situation. Staff at Frankland and elsewhere across the service will feel let down, dismayed and humiliated by part of the criminal justice system in which they serve. Colleagues in other professional agencies have expressed their dismay at how a case like this can be conducted in a manner where the victims feel they are on trial, that they have done something wrong, and then for the assailant to be exonerated."

MOJUK would like to ask Mr. Thompson to elaborate as to why he was, "amazed by how professional and restrained the prison officers were in dealing with the assailant immediately after the incident." Was he expecting them to beat Kevan to death and disappointed that they hadn't.

All in all the trial has been a disaster for the Crown Prosecution Service. No matter how hard they tried they couldn't persuade the jury that witnesses for Kevan, were criminals who had no credibility and couldn't tell the facts as they the prisoners had experienced them.

One of the last witnesses to appear for Kevan, Parviz Khan currently serving life for conspiracy to murder backed up claims by Kevan that prison officers subjected inmates at HMP Frankland to racist abuse. Surrounded by three prison guards, he told the jury. "I personally suffered from racism at Frankland, from officers. I thought it was systemic, however, there were officers I felt were very fair and very helpful, but they were few and far between."

Crown prosecutor Tim Gittins, cross examining Parviz had little interest in trying to ascertain if Parviz, was telling the truth about racism in HMP Frankland. Badgering him to talk about his own conviction, Parviz refused to be drawn into discussing why he was in prison, stating emphatically, "I have come here today to speak about the situation at Frankland, not to discuss my case." Khan said he was not unhappy about being kept in a prison regime and gave no comment to the suggestion he was trying to undermine it. "I am a Muslim political prisoner," he told Gittins.

Kevan is now heading back to HMP Woodhill, he will make a detour to visit his brother Miran in HMP Full Sutton and is expected back in Woodhill by the weekend.

Letters of Solidarity/Support to:
Kevan Thakrar     
A4907AE
HMP Woodhill
Milton Keynes
MK4 4DA