Free Satpal Ram

74 Appearances in 36 Locations

Posted Tuesday 18th June 2002

Satpal Ram is Free

This is a Victory but not Vindication

At 7.00pm on Tuesday 18th June 2002, Satpal Ram walked through the prison gate of HMP Blantyre House, for the last time.

Satpal's conviction has not been quashed and though he is now out on licence, Satpal will continue to fight the conviction, that has kept him in prison since 1987.

It was a fight to the bitter end.

Threatened with legal action, that continued imprisonment of Satpal, was unlawful the Treasury Solicitor for the Home Office, threw in the towel last Thursday June 13th and said they would release Satpal.

All it needed to free Satpal, was two signatures, the Lord Woolf the Lord Chief Justice, put his signature to the paper on Friday 14th June. All it needed was the counter signature of a Home Office Minister, usually the prison minister would counter sign.

At this stage the Home Secretary David Blunkett, made a personal intervention and was more than reluctant to sign Satpal's release. He should have counter signed the release on Friday but didn't, which meant Satpal had to spend another weekend in prison.

On Monday and Tuesday 17/18th June, numerous phone calls to Blunkett's office brought no joy, it was becoming clear that despite the advice of his own legal experts, Blunkett was stonewalling it.

Satpal's legal team, contacted the Treasury Solicitor again this afternoon, who said they stood by their original decision, it was Blunkett, who was holding up the release, against their advice.

Now Satpal's solicitors, felt there was no option but to go back to court.

At 6.00pm on Tuesday 18th June, Satpal's legal team were on their way to the High Court to apply for an order to release Satpal, when David Blunkett, conceded defeat and counter signed Satpal's, release papers.

The release papers were faxed to HMP Blantyre House and Satpal was released at 7.00pm.

Back ground to the last weeks events:

On the 27th October 2000 the Parole Board gave an unprecedented recommendation supporting the immediate release of Satpal Ram. However the then Home Secretary Jack Straw, refused to accept the recommendation and ordered that Satpal, should remain in prison.

Dennis Stafford's recent victory at the European Court of Human Rights has forced the present Home Secretary David Blunkett to reverse that decision. The ruling clearly stated that the continued detention by the Home Secretary, after the parole boards recommendation to release someone was illegal.

Satpal Ram's lawyer, Daniel Guedalla, said: "It does not mean they accept he is innocent and he is still challenging his wrongful conviction. This is a victory but not complete vindication. He is still on a life licence until his conviction is quashed. He lost 18 months or more of his liberty because of Jack Straw interfering."

Satpal's campaign to clear his name will continue after his release

Posted 20 June 2002

'I was threatened with hanging by racist prison guards'

By Arifa Akbar

20 June 2002

Satpal Ram, an Asian man who served 15 years after being convicted of murdering a man who he said had racially attacked him, spoke yesterday of the abuse and bigotry he endured in jail and his resolve to see his conviction quashed.

In an interview with The Independent, Mr Ram, 36, from Handsworth, Birmingham, who was released from jail on licence on Tuesday, likened his case to that of the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

He said that if he had not defended himself with a knife, in a fight with a customer in a Bengali restaurant, he would have been a "dead Stephen Lawrence rather than an alive Satpal Ram".

Mr Ram was sentence to life for the fatal stabbing of Clarke Pearce in the restaurant in Birmingham in November 1986, with a recommendation that he serve 10 years. During the fight, Mr Ram was stabbed twice with a broken glass. Mr Pearce died from wounds inflicted by a small packing knife that Mr Ram claimed he had used to defend himself.

Mr Ram, whose parents emigrated to England from the Indian state of Punjab in the 1950s, said Mr Pearce's death was regrettable and tragic. But he added: "I would have ended up another statistic if I had not defended myself that night."

He also alleged he had suffered appalling and repeated abuse by officers during his time in jail, much of which was spent in solitary confinement.

In 2000 the Parole Board said Mr Ram should be released on licence, but Jack Straw, Home Secretary at the time, overruled the recommendation because Mr Ram had refused to admit guilt.

His release finally came after European Court judges ruled last month that the Government had breached the human rights of the convicted murder Dennis Stafford by keeping him in jail longer than recommended by the Parole Board. The judges added that the power of a minister to overrule the board had been illegally used.

Mr Ram said he would be bringing a civil case for unlawful imprisonment for his incarceration during the past 18 months. "I feel there should be a public inquiry as to why I have been unlawfully held in prison since October 2000," he said.

"The court have ruled that the Home Secretary acted unlawfully. I feel that he should now be charged with unlawful imprisonment."

His supporters maintain that he acted in self-defence and was the victim of an unprovoked racial attack by Mr Pearce. The jury was not asked to consider the racist nature of the attack and key witnesses were not called, the campaigners say.

Mr Ram's cause has been backed by a string of high- profile figures including the pop bands Primal Scream, Apache Indian and Asian Dub Foundation. The 15-year campaign to free him included a petition with 2,000 signatures.

Mr Ram, who has three sisters and two brothers, said he did not regard himself as a murderer but as a political prisoner because of the political dimension to his case.

Thinking back to the fateful night that led to his incarceration, he said he had been "filled with fear" when a group of white men hurled racist abuse at him, calling him a "wog" and a "Paki".

Mr Ram said the knife he had been carrying on the night of the killing was the penknife he used in his job as a warehouseman. He had only had it with him because he had neglected to take it out of his pocket, he said. "I wasn't in the habit of carrying a penknife. It was in my pocket from work that day. I forgot to take it out and my employer verified this at the time."

During the course of his sentence, Mr Ram was moved to 74 different prisons and was regarded, he claimed, as a difficult prisoner. Yesterday he said he endured frequent and random racial abuse. None of his official complaints had been upheld.

"I sat and took it all in the early days, but then I thought enough is enough. You can keep a dog in a kennel and kick it in the face every morning for three days but on the fourth day the dog will bite back. I felt the prison officers I encountered tried to crush my resolve but I was determined not to let that happen."

Having served six years in solitary confinement, he said that he was randomly stripped, beaten and threatened with hanging by prison officers. "They would come in and shout at me calling me racist names. Seventeen-stone men would shout "you black c***" at me," he said.

Mr Ram said he received the support of people from around the world and their sympathetic letters helped him to get through his prison experience. Having left school without any formal qualifications, he used his time inside to read and educate himself. "The one thing I refused to let happen was to become institutionalised," he said.

Mr Ram was refused a visit to see his ill mother without handcuffs last year. She died without seeing her youngest son, a moment he recalled as his all-time low in prison.

"Prison leaves very few people's lives intact and it caters for the guilty, not the innocent," Mr Ram said.

"It is all the worse if you are a person of colour who has been wrongfully convicted."

Posted Sunday 16th June 2002

Satpal Ram to be released

Satpal Ram, should be released from prison early next week. His conviction has not been quashed. There will be a bulletin sent out as soon as he walks out of the prison gate

Threatened with legal action the Home Office have been forced to order Satpal Ram's release. Last Thursday the Treasury Solicitor decided they would not contest a Judicial Review sought by Satpal's legal team, that his continued imprisonment was unlawful.

Satpal's campaign to clear his name will continue after his release.

http://www.appleonline.net/satpal/

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Asian who killed man in race row freed after 15 years

Vikram Dodd, The Guardian, Saturday June 15, 2002

An Asian man who says he was wrongly convicted of murder after defending himself from a racist attack is to be released after 15 years in jail, the Home Office confirmed yesterday.

Friends and supporters of Satpal Ram, 36, who was jailed for life in 1987 for stabbing a white man in an Indian restaurant in Birmingham during a fight say he is the victim of one of the worst miscarriages of justice in recent years.

Mr Ram said the man, Clarke Pearce, had racially abused him before attacking and slashing him with broken glass. The judge at his trial had recommended he serve an 11 year sentence, but Mr Ram was kept in jail longer as he refused to admit his guilt.

His freedom, expected next week, was a result of a European court ruling last month.

In a separate case, Strasbourg judges ruled that the home secretary had no right to overrule a decision of a parole board to release a prisoner, known as the Stafford ruling.

This is what had happened to Mr Ram in 2000 when, in an unprecedented move, the then home secretary Jack Straw reversed a parole board decision to free him. The board had said Mr Ram no longer posed a danger to the public.

This week government lawyers decided they could not oppose a court challenge to Mr Straw's decision launched by Mr Ram's lawyers. Mr Ram could be released from Blantyre house, Kent, as early as Monday.

Mr Ram's lawyer, Daniel Guedalla, said: "It does not mean they accept he is innocent and he is still challenging his wrongful conviction. This is a victory but not complete vindication. He is still on a life licence until his conviction is quashed. He lost 18 months or more of his liberty because of Jack Straw interfering."

Mr Ram was 20 and working as a warehouseman when he clashed with Mr Pearce in November 1986. He was eating with two friends when a group of six white people arrived in the Sky Blue restaurant in Lozells, Birmingham.

A fight broke out when the white group started racially abusing the waiters. Mr Pearce smashed a glass on the table and stabbed Mr Ram twice in the face and in the wrist. Mr Ram claimed he was then pushed up against a wall with no means of escape, and he used a small packing knife from his job to defend himself.

Mr Ram's family and supporters say that he was wrongly convicted because his original lawyers failed properly to prepare his case and made basic errors during his trial. A crucial witness who could have supported Mr Ram's account was not called. No translator was provided for another witness who spoke only Bengali.

Mr Ram has been in repeated clashes with the prison authorities and has been moved more than 65 times to different prisons. He says he has been victimised by prison officers.

A Home Office spokeswoman said various procedures would have to be completed before Mr Ram was released. "The Treasury solicitor decided not to contest the judicial review as under the terms of the [European] judgment there was no point."

The prospect of Mr Ram's release was condemned by the dead man's family. Mr Pearce's sister, Jane Smith, told the Birmingham Evening Mail: "I'm disgusted. Life should mean life. He murdered my brother."

Mr Ram's case became a cause celebre, with pop bands backing his cause.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,737722,00.html

Posted Wednesday 27th March 2002

Crank up your fax machine

Satpal is once again asking you to crank up your fax machines.

His legal correspondence is being withheld from private opening. Prison staff are insisting that the mail be opened in their presence. As they think there might be contraband inside.

Satpal says this is just petty harassment, prison staff are trying to wind him up

Rule 39 is quite clear and quite clearly provides that a prisoner may correspond with his/her legal adviser and the court (including the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice). The governor can only open and examine such correspondence if there is reasonable cause to believe that it contains an illicit enclosure or there is reasonable cause to believe that its contents may endanger prison security, the safety of others,or is otherwise of a criminal nature.

Model letter, copy, amend, write your own and fax to:

Governor: Brian Pollett: FAX: 01795 880118 from outside the UK +44 1795 880118

===============================

Governor: Brian Pollett

HMP Elmley
Church Road
Eastchurch
Sheerness
Kent
ME12 4AY

Dear Mr. Pollet,

I once again am contacting you about your petty harassment of Satpal Ram.
You are insisting that legal correspondence from Birnberg Peirce & Partners, Mr. Rams solicitors, should be opened by Mr. Ram in front of your eyes or those of your staff.

Yourself or members of your staff, have alleged that the mail from this highly respected firm, may contain an illicit enclosure.

What are your grounds for this suspicion.

Has Birnberg Peirce & Partners, suddenly gone over the fence and are now committing crimes instead of defending those wrongly accused of committing them.

I don't think so.

You are more than familiar with Rule 39 dealing with a Prisoners’ right to correspondence and rulings under Article 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, regarding prisoners mail.

Do think again about what you are doing and give Mr. Ram his legal Correspondence, to be read in private.

Yours Sincerely,

Name:

Address:

Town:

Country:

Email:

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Please send a copy of anything sent to MOJUK:

Fax: 0121-554-7891 from outside the UK +44-21-554-7891

You can write to Satpal direct:

Satpal Ram
HMP Elmley
Church Road
Eastchurch
Sheerness
Kent
ME12 4AY

Or you can send a message of solidarity to:
SatpalRam@satpalram.connectfree.uk.comSatpalRam@satpalram.connectfree.uk.com

===============================

Prisoners and the Right to Correspondence

MOJUK has a document on the 'Prisoners and the Right to Correspondence', with relevant law. If you want a copy, just send a blank message to:

mojuk@mojuk.org.uk

and in the subject line put: Subscribe, prison letters

Posted Saturday 16th March 2002

Satpal Ram back in a closed prison

Satpal has been moved from HMP Blantyre House an open prison to HMP Elmley a closed prison.

This is his 72st move and the 37th different prison, (average prison moves for a lifer 6)

He has not been charged with breech of prison orders or given proper reasons for his transfer to HMP Elmley.

Satpal is complaining of harassment at HMP Elmley in that the prison governor Brian Pollett, will not let Satpal access his money which is held by the governor. Without money Satpal cannot buy phone cards or other items which are vital.

Satpal is asking you to take part in a fax of protest to the prison governor Brian Pollett, requesting that Satpal is given (1) access to his savings (2) that he be given in writing reasons for his move back to closed conditions and (3) that Satpal should be moved back immediately to an open prison. Model letter at end of message.

You can write to Satpal direct:

Satpal Ram
HMP Elmley
Church Road
Eastchurch
Sheerness
Kent
ME12 4AY

Or you can send a message of solidarity to:
SatpalRam@satpalram.connectfree.uk.com

=======================

Model letter, copy, amend, write your own and fax to:

Governor: Brian Pollett: FAX: 01795 880118 from outside the UK +44 1795 880118

=======================

Governor: Brian Pollett
HMP Elmley
Church Road
Eastchurch
Sheerness
Kent
ME12 4AY

Dear Mr. Pollet,

I find it hard to believe that Satpal has been moved back to a closed prison with out good reason. More disturbing is the petty harassment you are subjecting him to by refusing him access to his savings to buy the things he needs.

I would respectfully ask you to do the following:

(1) That Mr. Ram is given immediate access to his savings

(2) That he be given in writing reasons for his move back to closed conditions and

(3) That Mr. Ram should be moved back immediately to an open prison.

Yours Sincerely,

=======================

If you have time please fax a copy of anything sent to:

MOJUK: Fax: 0121-554-7891 from outside the UK + 44 121-554-7891

These will be snail-mailed to Satpal

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Posted January 1st 2002

     2002, will be the 16th year Satpal has spent in prison. And 2002 started out with the same old shit from the parole board. His parole review, should have been completed this month, but lo and behold the Parole Board say they don't have enough information and have put the review back six months. How much information do they need, to date they have sufficient material on Satpal to write enough books to fill a library.

     On the legal front, CCRC, submission has gone in against their refusal to refer his case back to the court of appeal.

     Appeal against Home Secretary's decision not to accept parole board recommendation, should be lodged soon. It will automatically fail for legal technicalities, (Anderton & Taylor v's Home Secretary, appeal against Home Secretary's power to increase tariff lost). Leave will then be made to appeal to the House of Lords.

January 25th is Satpal's 36th birthday, do send a card to address below:

Satpal Ram
HMP Blantyre House
Horden
Goudhurst
Kent
TN17 2NH

Or send an email:
Free Satpal Ram Campaign
SatpalRam@satpalram.connectfree.uk.com