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Human Rights  U P D A T E 


PARIS:  Kafka's Paradise, an American's Hell

          "Dark side" of the City of Lights


Below, is a classic example of the kind of injustice  
that has earned French Justice severe criticism
by the European Court and by international Human Rights
organizations.

These disturbing patterns of injustice -- which target
people of African and Arab descent -- continue 
unabated, as Amnesty as well documented.


E N   F R A N � A I S 

Pour la version fran�aise sur l'�preuve de Barry, et
pour la Lettre Ouverte pour Jacques Chirac, allez �: 

     http://x13.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=338585794
 

Merci beaucoup !!

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AFRICANA BULLETIN

                Issues Impacting the African Diaspora


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    If you have come here to help me, 
     you are wasting your time..... 
     But, if you have come because
     your liberation is bound up with mine, 
     then let us work together. 

     -- Aboriginal Woman



H E L P I N G    A    H U M A N    R I G H T S    V I C T I M 


   TROUBLING HUMAN RIGHTS CASE

                Barry, African American tourist in France

- arrested in May 1994 on arriving in France for his first visit, 
      for "association avec malfaiteur" (i.e., knowing someone
      whom French police had under surveillance for suspicion
      of trafficking)

- held 2 years without trial or bail or oppty to defend
      himself, despite apparent innocence (he had not been
      a suspect prior to his arrival in France, had nothing
      whatsoever illegal on him, and has NO history or record
      of involvement of any kind with anything illicit)

- sentenced to 18 years with no right to appeal; he will be
      nearly 50 years old if he survives to be released in
      the year 2012

- on July 2, Barry passed his 5th consecutive birthday in 
      isolation, in a 6X12-ft cell, effectively "abandoned"

- French prison conditions are deplorable, with both depression 
      and suicide RAMPANT and out of control.

      These prison conditions are given low priority by French
      "responsables" and by the French government.

      They say of the notorious Fresnes prison where Barry is:

          "You check in, but you might not check out." 

- At 6'4" (1m95), Barry has seen his weight drop 
      to 139 lbs (63 kilos) due to a diet that consists primarily
      of a non-descript gruel, with virtually no fresh fruit or
      vegetables, and low in protein.  "Rescue" efforts have been
      carried out by concerned persons to provide funds for
      Barry to purchase supplemental foods from the prison 
      commissary.


*  It is only recently that this case has become known.
*  It is rightfully being met with outrage on the part of 
         concerned persons.


SEND MESSAGE OF SUPPORT & GOODWILL - JOIN JUSTICE LIST

As a humanitarian gesture, here is what you can do to help:

1) SEND a short msg of encouragement to this victim, to 
     help buoy up his morale, and to let him know there are
     persons who DO care (you may send your personal msg to the 
     E-mail address, below, and we will Air Mail it to him).

     The more contact prisoners have with the "outside world,"
     the better they are treated, generally.

2) JOIN the Amnesty-Justice list set up to focus on his plight
     by sending ANY msg (with "Subscribe Human Rights List") 
     to both: 

         JUSTICE@comports.com, 101716.144@compuserve.com

     Pls reply to the <<Confirmation Request>> when it arrives.



Excess of the State

     This is a clear example of excess of the State.  Even if 
     Barry WERE guilty of something, an 18 year sentence without
     the possibility of appeal, goes WAY beyond the pale for 
     "civilized" society.  Such a sentence would be regarded as 
     cruel and inhuman in any Western country.  

     Barry has shared his cell with persons whose sentences are 
     YEARS less than his, even though these persons were convicted 
     of committing heinous crimes, including murder and rape.

     The gravity that this signals for Human Rights in general 
     must not be ignored or tolerated.
     

APPEAL LETTER WRITING

A letter-writing campaign is underway.  You are encouraged to
WRITE/SEND to French President Jacques Chirac and the French Gov't 
a simple letter of appeal in support of Barry's Human Rights
-- modeled on the short samples posted at:  

   http://www.poboxes.com/justice  (click sample appeal links)

Barry's family and friends have gone public 
to generate support, as a last-resort effort -- since 
his right to appeal has been arbitrarily taken away, under
the so-called Pasqua Laws.  


PARIS HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS

The Justice list will serve as a conduit for the reports from
the Paris-based Human Rights monitors who, following 
their prison visits with this person, send out a summary.  

Related issues to be discussed are death penalty, Human
Rights, and prisoner issues in France and elsewhere.


FRENCH ARTICLES, TRANSLATED

The list will also carry translations of articles from French
press on Human Rights and prison issues.


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Details on this Human Rights case can be found at:

         http://www.poboxes.com/justice

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PLEASE write to Barry at his prison address:

Barry BRAI MAH
Ecrou 875158 -Div. 3/208
Allee des Thuyas
94261 Fresnes - CEDEX
FRANCE

Send Barry a short msg of encouragement and support for his
  Human Rights; please take the time...


WE WILL AIRMAIL YOUR MESSAGE TO BARRY

Alternatively, please go to http://www.poboxes.com/justice
to write a personal message for Barry, of any length.  

Or, E-mail your message to both:

          FreeBarry1@aol.com
          BarrySupport@starmail.com

We will print your message out and AirMail it to him at 
his prison address in France (include your street 
address if you would like him to reply; he does
not have access to E-mail).

Web sites with info on Barry's plight:

http://www.freeyellow.com/members3/justice1/justice.html
http://members.aol.com/FreeBarry1/index.html
http://home4.inet.tele.dk/lepan/lene/index.htm

Find sketches & drawings of Barry's at the above sites.


DONATIONS

If willing to make a donation (however small) toward 
Barry's legal and prison expenses, please write to both:

          101716.144@compuserve.com
          FreeBarry1@aol.com

We will send you the postal mailing address where donations.

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________


AMNESTY Int'l on the PLIGHT of 

               BARRY ...

                        AMERICAN TOURIST in FRANCE
_____________________________________________________

Lavanya Radhakrishnan, Coordinator-Amnesty Int'l-USA 
      in Urbana Champaign, Illinois


I hope that Barry will get a chance to defend himself.  I
spent a year in France about 3 years ago, and my boyfriend,
a Parisian of Senegalese descent, was also wrongly convicted
of drug trafficking.  He was innocent, that I was sure of,
but the police brutalized him, and threw him in jail with no
sight of a trial.  He also experienced bad conditions in his
prison environment, and he was denied visitation from
anyone, even his own mother, for 5 months.

However, for reasons unknown to his friends and family, he
was released after 365 days of confinement - no trail, no
explanation from the judicial system. Maybe there is a
chance that Barry will be released earlier than 18 years,
but we must all fight for him now.


Sincerely,

Lavanya Radhakrishnan
Amnesty International-USA

_________________________________


The following post appears in alt.prisoner.rights at:

    http://x8.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=398936741


Re: FRANCE: Mass Arrests-Mass Trials�
Author:�Mike Sloyan
Email:  mike@sloyan.freeserve.co.uk
Forums:  alt.prisoner.rights


I have suffered at the hands of the so-called french justice 
system. I was held in custody for 2 years in a french 
prison without ever seeing a lawyer (despite endless requests) 
and when I finally taken to court I was "automatically" found 
guilty because under french law I had no right to ask
for a jury, I had no right to plead not guilty. 

A local magistrate had decided to convict me and that was 
legal under french law!  At anyone time there are over 300 
fellow Brits in french prisons enduring the same bullshit
and the British government will not get involved because 
it regards the situation as "a french domestic matter"

..................

Ed. comment:  If this account is essentially true and 
         the Brits are victimized this way in France as 
         the author claims, then one can imagine how
         much worse it could be for personae non grata
         in France, such as Arab and African descentants.

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FRENCH PRESS ON FRENCH HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The French Press on French Torture and Human Rights Abuse:
     http://x2.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=401428954

Mass Arrests & Mass Trials in France:
     http://x2.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=401428954

_______________________________________________________


AMNESTY - JUSTICE LIST

JOIN the Amnesty-Justice list set up to focus on Barry's plight
     by sending ANY msg (with "Subscribe Human Rights List") 
     to both: 

         JUSTICE@comports.com, 101716.144@compuserve.com

  and reply to the <<Confirmation Request>> when it arrives