Skip Nav | Home | Mobile | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Security | Support Us

World

Day of Action in Support of John Bowden

Leeds ABC | 27.05.2012 12:31 | Repression | World

Monday 11th June 2012



Imprisoned since 1980, (and in fact for most of his life before that), John Bowden has been a thorn in the side of the English and Scottish prison systems for three decades. John has paid a heavy price for being a staunch defender of prisoners’ rights and a committed opponent of injustice, spending years in the most brutal conditions, and suffering numerous physical assaults and treatment that has frequently amounted to torture.
Over the past decade though, John’s captors have been using a new tactic to keep him behind bars – the lies of prison social workers and quack ‘psychologists’. First, a few years ago, Matthew Stillman alleged that the Anarchist Black Cross were a ‘terrorist organisation’ and that John was therefore a ‘terrorist’ by implication. Brendan Barnett has now made even more ludicrous allegations against John, but such is the corruption within Edinburgh ‘Criminal Justice Services’ that John’s complaints have led to his victimisation, rather than the disciplining of Brendan ‘Pinocchio’ Barnett. You can read about the affair in these previous articles:  http://leedsabc.org/another-attempt-to-sabotage-john-bowdens-parole-by-prison-hired-social-worker/ ,  http://leedsabc.org/update-from-john-bowden-about-lies-written-by-prison-hired-social -worker-2/ ,  http://leedsabc.org/support-for-john-bowden/ ,  http://leedsabc.org/corrupt-social-workers-attempt-to-rid-themselves-of-prisoner-john-bowden/ ,  http://leedsabc.org/end-lies-and-corruption-in-edinburgh-criminal-justice- services/ , and  http://leedsabc.org/lying-prison-social-worker-invited-to-audition-for-pinocchio/
As John says in his most recent article ( http://leedsabc.org/corrupt-social-workers-attempt-to-rid-themselves-of-prisoner-john-bowden/):
“Edinburgh Criminal Justice Services, or what used to be known as the plain Social Work Department, have seriously compromised their professional integrity by defending a member of staff who deliberately told lies in a report to the Parole Boards in an attempt to sabotage my chances of release from prison. Behaving like corrupt policemen instead of traditional social workers seems now to be acceptable practice at Edinburgh Social Services.”
To rid themselves of John Bowden, so as to avoid having to deal with his complaints, Edinburgh ‘Criminal Justice Services’ are now trying to instigate John’s removal from the Scottish prison system back into the English one. Two years ago, the Parole Board recommended that John be moved to an open prison, something the Scottish Prison Service have stubbornly ignored, and it is inevitable that if John is moved into a different prison system any ‘progression’ to open conditions will be delayed even further, if indeed it ever happens at all. John has been a tireless critic of the human rights abuses frequently perpetrated by the English Prison Service, and we believe that they would like him to die in jail.
Once again, as with the Matthew Stillman campaign a few years ago, it is time for supporters of John Bowden, and opponents of injustice everywhere, to step up to defend John, and to send a message to the prison authorities, that whether they are in jail or out of jail, no comrade of ours is ever alone. Furthermore, these corrupt social workers need to know that their lies and machinations will not go unchallenged.
We are therefore calling for a Day of Action in support of John Bowden on MONDAY 11th JUNE. Please organise what you can – banner drops, demos, phone-ins, letter writing, etc – and please help spread word of this call as widely as possible.
Some useful contacts:
Brendan ‘Pinnochio’ Barnett, Grindlay Court Social Work Centre, Criminal Justice Services, 2-4 Grindlay Court, Edinburgh, EH3 9AR. (Telephone: 0131 469 3408 Fax 0131 229 8628)
Michelle Miller, Chief Social Worker, Grindlay Court Social Work Centre, Criminal Justice Services, 2-4 Grindlay Court, Edinburgh, EH3 9AR. (Telephone: 0131 469 3408 Fax 0131 229 8628) NB Michelle Miller also works out of Waverly Court, see details for Peter Gabbitas below.
Peter Gabbitas, Director, Health and Social Care Department, Waverly Court, Level 1/8, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8DG. (Telephone 0131 553 8201 Fax 0131 529 6218).
Social Work Advice and Complaints Service, Waverley Court, Level 1/7, 4 East Market Street, Edinburgh, EH8 8BG. (Telephone 0131 529 6217 Email  socialwork.complaints@edinburgh.gov.uk).
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, 4 Melville Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7NS.
Scottish Prison Service HQ, Communications Branch, Room 338, Calton House, 5 Redheughs Rigg, Edinburgh, EH12 9HW. (Telephone 01259 760 471 Fax 01259 762 003 E-mail  gaolinfo@sps.gov.uk
Ian Whitehead (Governor), HMP Shotts, Cantrell Road, Shotts, Scotland, ML7 4LE. (Telephone 01501 824000 Fax 01501 824 001 ).
Letters and cards of support to John at: John Bowden, 6729, HMP Shotts, Cantrell Road, Shotts, Scotland, ML7 4LE.
You can also send e-mails to John (or any other prisoner) via:  http://www.emailaprisoner.com

You can download John Bowden’s pamphlet ‘Tear Down The Walls!’ free of charge from the PDF section of the Leeds ABC website at www.leedsabc.org





Leeds ABC
- e-mail: leedsabc@riseup.net
- Homepage: www.leedsabc.org

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

Demo at The Liars' Den?

27.05.2012 22:03

Would be good to see a demo at Grindlay Court (and/or Waverley Court) if anyone in Edinburgh is up for it?

Ann Archy


more info please

28.05.2012 08:25

could we have more info please ?
the article doesnt' explain what this man has been imprisoned for,
is he a political prisoner ?

interested


if you're really "interested"....?

28.05.2012 12:55

there are various links provided within the article above.
including this one, which is written by john himself and explains what he was convicted of several decades ago.
 http://leedsabc.org/corrupt-social-workers-attempt-to-rid-themselves-of-prisoner-john-bowden/

some people describe all prisoners as "political prisoners", because incarceration by the state is a political issue, and all those who are locked up in these cages are victims of the state.

some people use the term "political prisoners" more to refer to those with more overt "politics".
including those whose political beliefs and actions led to them being locked up in the first place. but also those whose political beliefs and actions are the reason they're not getting released now (and often suffer from worse conditions inside, solitary confinement etc, than they would otherwise have done as a "non-political prisoner").

anyway, a quick internet search will tell you much more about john bowden, some of what he has done on the inside and the high level of respect he enjoys from other prisoners in the system. hope that helps.

helpful


Funny

28.05.2012 16:57

Funny how the very mention of John Bowden's name sends screws scurrying around like the rats they are.

ABCer


Barnett

29.05.2012 19:40

Brendan Barnett is a mentally-deranged sadist who has become obsessed with John Bowden. Bearing in mind some of his other, almost psycopathic, behaviour recently and his inability to tell the truth, even to colleagues, it is certainly plausible that he has been commenting here. There urgently needs to be an investigation into the behaviour of Brendan Barnett before he ruins the reputation of the whole department.

CC


Attn CC

29.05.2012 22:32

CC, if you take a look at the negative comments on some of the other John Bowden threads, I think it's fairly obvious that they're written by the same person. Bearing in mind Brendan Barnett's obsession with John Bowden, the lies he's already told, and his increasingly irrational behaviour (which you'll know about if, as I suspect, you're a collegue of Barnett's) I strongly suspect he is the person doing the trolling.

ABCer


@ 'ABCer'

30.05.2012 10:02

Brendan Barnett is one of those little Napoleon characters with a puffed-up idea of his own importance. He regularly treats his clients, usually relatively minor offenders, like dirt, and has become obsessed with John Bowden (who he regards as challenging his authority) in recent weeks. He has been positively ranting about these internet postings and I'm sure he's been posting here, the language and content of some of the posts is exactly the same as he's used elsewhere. He's determined to "destroy" Bowden and has developed a very unprofessional hatred of the the man. It's highly regrettable that Barnett is not only being protected, but is being allowed to continue his vengeful campaign against Bowden.

CC


in a bad mood through social work

27.07.2012 08:55

social work delibratly lied in reports about me and my surcomstancies from the begining, i fallowed the complaint system to no avail, they ignored my complaints after they were instigated and made sure they didnt get anywheir or resolved, years ago i bumped into someone who told me he worked in Saughton prison as a social worker and that he was exspected to make up information and portray things in the worst possible way in reports, he basicaly had to lie and he actualy didnt like to do this because he said he wanted to be a social worker to help people and not hinder them, but the job market was tough and he needed the job, he told me wheir he lived and other personal information, he said that if he was ever exspected to do a report on me, that i should just walk out, dont answere my name nothing, more than likely someone else will end up doing it, because i do not want him to do a report as it will turn out to be exstremely bad, many years later he did end up doing a report on me, i didnt recall who he was untill sometime afterwards, and it turned out to be full of errors etc, the court convicted and sentenced me on such and other social workers used much of that information as well to generate other reports just as bad, the other week when i had to report to the social work for the first time on my so called non parole licence, stephen laird said that social work had delibratly lied in my reports in order to have unusual and exseptonal conditions placed on me, the socialwork know that i have recently seen my solicitor in order to start a fresh appeal against conviction and sentence and they still insist i discuss my previouse convictions and life dispite telling me that the past isnt important, the futer is, dispite me not being in any trouble for about 13 years, i was convicted in 2007 for something that happened in 1998 and still havent had a proper appeal.
john bowden should have the right to freedom as a human being to live and work and provide for family, besides himeself , as should everyone else to enjoy life.

s.lynch
mail e-mail: jocksteve74@gmail.com


Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

/regional publish include --> /regional search include -->

World 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

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Server Appeal Radio Page Video Page Indymedia Cinema Offline Newsheet

secure 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.

IMCs


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