> >> PROTEST AGAINST CUSTODY DEATHS
> 4th Annual Remembrance Procession
> Saturday 26 October 2002
>
> Rally at Trafalgar Square, Central London. Assemble at 1pm. Nearest tube:
> Charing Cross
>
> Silent Procession along Whitehall followed by Noisy Protest at Downing
> Street!
> ALL WELCOME - PLEASE WEAR BLACK - BRING YOUR GROUP'S BANNER BUT NO
PLACARDS
> PLEASE
>
> Further info: contact United Families & Friends Campaign on 07770 432439
>
> In 1969 David Oluwale became the first black person to die in police
> custody. That was over thirty years ago and hundreds of people have died
in
> custody since then. Many of these incidents have been suspicious, yet none
> of the police officers involved have ever been convicted. Even when
unlawful
> killing verdicts are returned at inquests charges against the police never
> follow. We have lost confidence in the ability of the system to deliver
real
> justice.
>
> The United Families & Friends Campaign (UFFC) has been set up to challenge
> this system and stop the killings of black and white people in custody. It
> is a coalition of families and friends of those that have died in the
> custody of police and prison officers as well as those who are killed in
> secure psychiatric hospitals. Together we are building a network for
> collective action. The manner of deaths of our relatives have been
brutal -
> CS gas, long handled batons, restraining belts and guns are just some of
the
> methods by which our brothers and sisters have been killed. These
> institutionalised and often racist killings are an affront to a society
that
> seeks to be a civilised democracy. These deaths represent unacceptable
> breeches of human rights and must stop. The UFFC's aims and objectives are
> to ensure that such basic human rights be upheld and stop deaths within
> custody. It is to ensure that when deaths do occur, that the whole truth
as
> to how they were killed, by whom and why emerges. The custodial
institutions
> must be made accountable to the communities that they serve and criminal
> charges brought against the officers and staff that are responsible.
>
> UFFC was formed in early 1997 since then our consistent challenges of the
> Police Complaints Authority, the Crown Prosecution Service and the
> government has made an impact and changes have been promised - but it is
far
> from enough. Nothing less than the prosecution of the killers of our
family
> members will do. On a number of occasions we have asked the Government to
> hold an inquiry into these deaths but they have refused. We can never
forget
> those we have lost - and we WILL NOT allow the government to do so. On the
> last weekend of October every year, we will hold a remembrance procession
> from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street, until the politicians finally act
> to prevent further deaths and more families suffering the grief we carry
> every day.
>
> Our demands:
> * An independent public inquiry into deaths in custody.
> * All deaths in custody should be independently investigated.
> * The Police Complaints Authority be replaced by a body that is genuinely
> independent of the police.
> * Prison deaths should not be investigated by the Prison Service.
> * Officers involved in custody deaths be suspended until investigations
are
> completed.
> * Prosecutions of officers should automatically follow unlawful killing'
> verdicts at inquests.
> * Officers responsible for deaths should face criminal charges, even if
> retired.
> * The police are must be accountable to the communities that they serve.
> * Legal Aid and full disclosure of information be made to the relatives of
> the victims.
>
> > International Day of Protest - October 22
>
> Every year on October 22, relatives and friends of people who have died in
> custody in the United States demonstrate in New York. Following a meeting
> with them in 2001, it was agreed to make October 22 an International Day
of
> Protest Against Deaths in Custody. UFFC has called a vigil outside the US
> Embassy in London, from 5pm to 8pm, in solidairity with our brothers and
> sisters in America and with ALL grieving relatives and friends worldwide
who
> have lost loved ones in state custody.
>
> The United Families and Friends Campaign is a coalition of the families of
> people who have died in custody. It is supported by INQUEST, Newham
> Monitoring Project and by the family campaigns of the following:
Christopher
> Alder, Jimmy Ashley, Rocky Bennett, Orville Blackwood, Alphonso Coley,
David
> Davies, Brian Douglas, Wayne Douglas, Joy Gardner, James Grafton, Glenn
> Howard, Paul Jemmott, Shiji Lapite, Alton Manning, Leon Patterson, Kenneth
> Severin, lbrahima Sey, Aseta Simms, Harry Stanley, Roger Sylvester and by
> many other families from across the country who have lost loved ones in
> police custody, in prison or in psychiatric hospitals.
>
> --------------------
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> http://www.ncrm.org.uk
> http://www.carf.demon.co.uk
> http://www.irr.org.uk
>
>
>
>