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MEETING IN SUPPORT OF MAARTEN BLOK

anon | 19.08.2004 10:49

A member of Maarten's Dutch support group will be talking about the case and the campaign to fight Maarten's extradition. A number of short films will also be shown. Background info below:

MEETING IN SUPPORT OF MAARTEN BLOK
Dutch Activist Facing Extradition To Sweden In Relation to Gotherburg 2001
AT THE PACKHORSE PUB IN LEEDS
NEXT SUNDAY AUGUST 22ND
7.30PM

PLEASE ATTEND

A member of Maarten's Dutch support group will be talking about the case and the campaign to fight Maarten's extradition. A number of short films will also be shown. Background info below:



No extradition of Maarten!

On the morning of June 14, 2001, a European Summit began in Sweden, in the city of Gothenburg. Maarten had arrived in the city the previous night and had the bad luck to have chosen a place to sleep in a school provided by the city council that on that morning was surrounded by the police for a mass arrest of all the people (more than 450) who happened to be in that place at that time. He was arrested and deported to the Netherlands.

About four months later, he received notification from a Swedish group supporting those who had been charged after the European Summit; there was supposedly an international arrest warrant for him for severe disorder and violence against a police officer, after some research it turned out that this warrant did in fact exist.

Although the case is hardly supported, although there is sufficient evidence of Maarten's innocence (video recordings and witnesses) and although all other 'foreigner' cases have meanwhile been transferred to their own countries, Maarten is still waiting for extradition and a trial in Sweden that he has probably already lost in advance. He lost his courtcase about the extradition, and right now he is waiting for minister of Justice mr. Donner to make a final decision.

The chance of Maarten getting a fair trial in Sweden is been minimal, according to his attorney and those who have been following the trials until now. The Gothenburg court has still not been objective in comparable cases, relies on 'flawless' police witnesses who contradict one another as well as manipulated evidence and gives extremely high sentences (especially to witnesses whom they regard as 'political'). In short, it is more interested in setting examples than in justice. A Swedish attorney estimates Maarten's chance of getting justice in a higher appeal as practically nil.

Maarten will not receive a fair trial if he is extradited to Sweden.

More info:
 http://www.freetriptosweden.com

PLEASE LET OTHERS KNOW ABOUT THIS MEETING


anon