2007 Photo Stream
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Milan Rai and Maya Evans...
Read the report: The Trial That Wasn't
Press Release:
Freedom of Speech Faces Another Round of Erosion
Peace activists Maya Anne Evans 27 and Milan Rai 41 from Hastings are back in Court on the 10 April 2pm Horseferry Magistrates facing charges under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 for peacefully demonstrating against the Iraq war in October 2006 opposite Downing Street and Parliament.
Maya Anne Evans became the first person convicted under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act in 2005 when she peacefully read the names of British soldiers who had lost their lives in the Iraq war (1). She now has a criminal record and is about to be repossessed by the bailiffs for refusing to pay the fine(2).
Milan Rai was the first person convicted for organising the unauthorised demonstration the two attended in 2005, he was reading out some of the 100,000 (3) names of Iraqis who have been killed by US/UK forces since the invasion March 2003.
Maya and Mil now face charges for organising and participating in a 24 hour peace camp which took place last October to mark the anniversary of the massive US assault on Fallujah in November 2004(4) and the Lancet Medical report(5).
Although the only ones charged Mil and Maya were not the sole organisers. At the forth coming trial the two will be representing themselves and calling the other 8 organizers to give evidence.
Maya says: "I am not going to co-operate with the erosion of our freedom of speech. It is my democratic right to freely remember and respect the deaths of the war dead."
If convicted of organising an unauthorised demonstration the two could face a possible 51 weeks in prison or a hefty fine.
Maya adds: "It's outrageous the government are using such draconian tactics to silence anti war protest. Peaceful demonstration should not be illegal."
Contact
mayaevans at fastmail.co.uk
milanrai at btinternet.com
Notes
1. At the time Maya read 97 names, the figure now stands at 134 UK soldiers killed in Iraq
2. Maya has recently published a book 'Naming the Dead' available on www.j-n-v.org
3. In October 2004 a medial journal The Lancet published a report estimating 100,000 Iraqis had died due to the invasion of US/UK troops into Iraq.
4. In November 2004 the US - with British assistance - launched a massive assault against the Iraqi city of Fallujah, killing hundreds of civilians, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and using white phosphorus - a substance that burns down to the bone - as a weapon against the city and its inhabitants. Since then US-led forces have continued to attack towns and cities across Iraq, and played a major role in pushing the country into a state of civil war.
5. According to the latest survey published in the Lancet October 2006, coalition forces in Iraq have killed 186,000 Iraqis since the start of the 2003 invasion (PDF article). The CIA says that the occupation of Iraq has become "the 'cause celebre' for jihadists ... cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement" (PDF article) and the head of the British Army has said that the presence of British forces in Iraq is "exacerbat[ing] the security problems" there (Daily Mail, 13 October).
Press Release:
Freedom of Speech Faces Another Round of Erosion
Peace activists Maya Anne Evans 27 and Milan Rai 41 from Hastings are back in Court on the 10 April 2pm Horseferry Magistrates facing charges under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 for peacefully demonstrating against the Iraq war in October 2006 opposite Downing Street and Parliament.
Maya Anne Evans became the first person convicted under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act in 2005 when she peacefully read the names of British soldiers who had lost their lives in the Iraq war (1). She now has a criminal record and is about to be repossessed by the bailiffs for refusing to pay the fine(2).
Milan Rai was the first person convicted for organising the unauthorised demonstration the two attended in 2005, he was reading out some of the 100,000 (3) names of Iraqis who have been killed by US/UK forces since the invasion March 2003.
Maya and Mil now face charges for organising and participating in a 24 hour peace camp which took place last October to mark the anniversary of the massive US assault on Fallujah in November 2004(4) and the Lancet Medical report(5).
Although the only ones charged Mil and Maya were not the sole organisers. At the forth coming trial the two will be representing themselves and calling the other 8 organizers to give evidence.
Maya says: "I am not going to co-operate with the erosion of our freedom of speech. It is my democratic right to freely remember and respect the deaths of the war dead."
If convicted of organising an unauthorised demonstration the two could face a possible 51 weeks in prison or a hefty fine.
Maya adds: "It's outrageous the government are using such draconian tactics to silence anti war protest. Peaceful demonstration should not be illegal."
Contact
mayaevans at fastmail.co.uk
milanrai at btinternet.com
Notes
1. At the time Maya read 97 names, the figure now stands at 134 UK soldiers killed in Iraq
2. Maya has recently published a book 'Naming the Dead' available on www.j-n-v.org
3. In October 2004 a medial journal The Lancet published a report estimating 100,000 Iraqis had died due to the invasion of US/UK troops into Iraq.
4. In November 2004 the US - with British assistance - launched a massive assault against the Iraqi city of Fallujah, killing hundreds of civilians, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and using white phosphorus - a substance that burns down to the bone - as a weapon against the city and its inhabitants. Since then US-led forces have continued to attack towns and cities across Iraq, and played a major role in pushing the country into a state of civil war.
5. According to the latest survey published in the Lancet October 2006, coalition forces in Iraq have killed 186,000 Iraqis since the start of the 2003 invasion (PDF article). The CIA says that the occupation of Iraq has become "the 'cause celebre' for jihadists ... cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement" (PDF article) and the head of the British Army has said that the presence of British forces in Iraq is "exacerbat[ing] the security problems" there (Daily Mail, 13 October).
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