Picture of black woman with capPton: This ib is so diferent. The
satisfaction I get from helping people is great." Picture of Asian man:
"Although there can be a language barrier,
bridges can be built with a simple smile."
Yes, it's Group 4 advertising in The Bedfordshire on Sunday to hire guards for the re-opening in September of Yarl's Wood near Bedford, 19 months after the fire that destroyed half the detention centre.
"Group 4 is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all staff... this vacancy is subject to a 10-year checkable history and the strict vetting standards set by Group 4 and the Secretary of State for the Home Office."
Would that be the procedure that passed Richard Green, a British National Party member, as appropriate to work at the centre? (Mr Green was also a BNP candidate in the recent local elections in Bedford.)
"Group 4 Immigration Services maintain the security and good order of Yart's Wood Immigration Centre, providing a safe environment for people who are being detained...
They must be thinking of their "complete loss of control within minutes" of Europe's biggest detention centre on February 14 last year. The words are those of the chief prosecutor in the current trial of 9 former Yarl's Wood detainees. A fair trial is not possible
In the trial at Harrow Crown Court, west London, charged with violent disorder are Agron Kastrioti, Behar Limani, George Tuka, Klodjan Gaba, Lucky Jacobs, Henry Momodu, Kayode Abdul, Thomas Kalu and
Naseem Mosstaffa. Mr Momodu and Mr
Mostaff are charged with arson. And Mr
Mosstaffa is charged with affray. All plead
not guilty.
Trial proceedings started on April 23 and
are expected to continue for 12 to 16
weeks (to mid July).
For over two weeks legal arguments in
the absence of the jury were put forward as to why the entire case and individual prosecutions should not go forward.
Before the trial the Campaign for Justice
in the Yarl's Wood trial called for all the charges to be dropped on the grounds that a fair trial cannot be held because:
• Many eye-witnesses were deported after the fire including some which the defence wished to call to testify in person as to what really happened
The prosecution in the shape of another arm of the government, the Home Office, has an overwhelming influence on many witnesses who are being called, because the Home Office is still considering their immigration status/asylum application
• The frenzy of chauvinist press treatment of refugees and other migrants has created an atmosphere that prevents justice being done and being seen to be done.
Sitting in Harrow Crown Court, west London, Judge Saunders decided the trial should go ahead, but objections could be made as issues arose during the trial. One guilty plea
During the period of legal arguments, Ahmed Aliane, an Algerian, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and was sentenced. He had spent over 2 years in prison, first as an immigration detainee, then as a defendant. A charge of arson was dropped against him. Another defendant, Petr Hrubes, had the
same charge dismissed and walked free.
Following prolonged efforts to get out of
prison before the trial, most of the defendants are in bail hostels. But Mr Mosstaffa is
in Feltham Youth Offenders Institution and
Ahmed Aliane still in Wormwood Scrubs.
Since the start of the trial another exdetainee, Illie Miclescu, has been arrested and charged with violent disorder. One
defendant did not turn up for the opening of the trial. The start of the trial proper
The jury, which includes seven people who are black or 'of colour", finally took their seats on Monday May 12 as the prosecution opened up
The very same day, the Home Office picked up and detained Eunice, a Nigerian woman, whose objections to being refused access to an evening prayer meeting triggered off the mass protests on February 14. She is a potentially vital witness for the defence.
The Campaign for Justice in the Yarl's Wood Trial called her detention, at Tinsley detention centre, Gatwick airport, as 'at best a Home Office screw-up, at worst a deliberate attempt to sabotage the defence'. Steps are being taken to secure her release.
The prosecution stated that for over 5 hours police were prevented by Group 4 from taking command at Yarl's Wood on the night of February 14. The Fire Service has complained that it was prevented from tackling the fire for an hour as it took hold. Bedfordshire Fire Authority, backed by the FBU, claimed in 2000 that Yarls Wood was "a disaster waiting to happen" Half the centre was burned down with damage estimated at £50m. Group 4 is suing the police for damages (work that out) in what looks like a spoiling action.
In the 1998 trial of former detainees at Campsfield detention centre near Oxford the judge instructed the jury to find the nine defendants not guilty of riot because the evidence of Group 4 guards' and immigration officers was 'unreliable.
See: www.closecampsfield.org.uk/background/trial.html
Campaigners are hoping that as the trial fontinues, it will be possible to expose in this case too the fact that the "evidence" of the prosecution doesn't stand up.
In addition, we are keeping an eye on the media. Both the local Bedfordshire papers and several nationals have printed the opening remarks of the prosecution, but the defence case has not been similarly reported.