From The Sunday Telegraph, Aug 29, 2010, by ANDREW GILLIGAN How a British student's life fell apart after he was sent to Greece

 

His extraordinary case has become a focus for growing concern about the European Arrest Warrant, under which British citizens can be seized and extradited at the request of another EU country without any evidence needing to be produced in a British court - or, in Mr Symeou's case, seemingly without any reliable evidence at all.

 

How much longer can the Westminster government ignore the rising pressure to abandon this highly obnoxious law that sends British subjects, without trial or even examination of the evidence, into systems to which the word "justice" is totally inappropriate?

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"More than 1,000 people in Britain last year were seized by police on the orders of European prosecutors, a 51 per cent rise in 12 months.

 

Many are accused of trivial crimes overseas such as possessing cannabis or leaving petrol stations without paying. No evidence need be presented in British courts of the alleged offence and judges have few powers to resist the person’s extradition"

 

Says the Telegraph in an article "Britain left to count cost of European Arrest Warrant" by Andrew Gilligan, dated Aug 28th. 

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One day our government will apologise for allowing this destroyer of basic British freedoms, the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), to be given legal status in the UK State of the EU. What more evidence does it need than the case of Edmond Arapi, a Staffordshire father of three, accused and convicted by Italian authorities of a murder, he didn't commit despite being able to prove that he was in England at the time. But, under the terms of the EAW, the evidence isn't tested before extradition is granted to an EU State with a very different idea of justice to that held by British subjects.

Unusually, this story had a happy ending but not before Mr Arapi spent a year fighting extradition.

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Andrew Symeou's trial was due to start in Greece in June 4th, but to no one's surprise, it has been adjourned. However, he has been allowed out on bail, from Korydallos jail, for the first time in over ten months.

 

From Virtual Globetrotting

Korydallos Prison Complex is the main prison of Greece, housing both maximum security men and women. Its most famous detainees are the notorious November 17 terrorist members. The prison has consistently been cited by Amnesty International as one of the worst prisons in Europe, both for its overcrowding and inhumane treatment of detainees. The Hellenic Parliament has vowed to improve conditions, but due to bureaucratic delays, little has changed.

 

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The Justice for Andrew Fundraiser is this Sunday at The Willow, Winchmore Hill road, Southgate. It is shaping out to be a very entertaining evening with live music performances from Asya Satti, Despina from X-factor, Emel Michael and Brian Walpole. We have a performance from the very talented published poet Laura Dockrill and a reading from author Christy Lefteri, A skit from the hilarious Brigitte Aphrodite there will a magician around to continually amuse and bemuse the kids! (and adults!) There will be a DJ and a pianist to provide sweet music to all ones ears!

 

 

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Cranmer reminds us, on this day, that:  "England is worth celebrating and the English should be proud to do so.

St George was not English. Indeed, he was born in (what is now) Turkey and was martyred in Israel (which some prefer to call Palestine). Yet his story is bound up with that of England, for it is a story of a quest for religious liberty. Born of Christian parents during the late third century, George became a soldier - a loyal and successful one - in the army of Emperor Diocletian. When in AD302 the Emperor issued an edict that every Christian soldier in the army should be arrested and every other soldier forced to offer a sacrifice to the Pagan gods, George refused. He was neither going to bow the knee to false idols nor honour religious tyranny. Just as the English were eventually to do, George rejected the notion of ‘Divine Right' and king worship. He renounced the Emperor's edict and declared before his fellow soldiers that he was a Christian and would worship only Jesus Christ. Diocletian had George tortured by laceration on a wheel of swords. He was eventually beheaded for his faith, a witness which caused others to convert to Christianity who were themselves martyred for their faith in Jesus."