Solidarity Rally in the Park

Last Sunday (August 26) a public rally was held in the park outside the Hamburg remand prison where seven of the Somali defendants have been held for over two years, waiting for their verdict

One of the biggest wishes of the prisoners has always been to hear Somali music. They can't listen to their language on the radio like other prisoners and the rules around getting CDs into prison are tight – only CDs from certain suppliers are allowed and most Somali musician aren't signed up with major labels.

The solution therefore, was to play their music in the park. The open mike was used to greet the Somali prisoners and other people also used the opportunity to say hello to their relatives and friends.

The weather was fine, the waffles tasted great, the kids played on the grass and maybe the prisoners felt a little bit less lonely in their cells that day.

Hoilday Programme VI

Only a stone's throw away from the Hamburg remand prison where seven of the accused Somali have been locked up for over two years now, stands this image of a pirate at the entrance to a playground, enticing children to a life of adventure and freedom. Is anyone warning them what will happen if they actually try?

Solidarity Rally Outside Prison

Public Rally in the park (Planten un Blomen) outside Hamburg Remand Prison (entrance Jungiusstr). 

Sunday, 26 August 2012, 3pm - 7 pm

Coffee, cake, drink and songs from inside and about prison.

Court Report Day 95 – 30 July 2012

First, the judge announced that the applications for bail for two defendants had been declined.

Then yet another German Federal Police officer who had been present during the interview of the Indian journalist R. gave evidence. However, she could not add anything significant, most of her memories came from reading the notes.

 Next, a fax from the French police was presented, confirming that no finger prints of the 'crown witness' were held. This doesn't surprise us because in a successful hijacking there are no fingerprints taken – instead the ransom is paid, the crew released and the ship returned.

copyright:hmagdy

 This was followed by another call by the defence to investigate the connections of the 'crown witness' to his alleged brother in London. Several defence lawyers said that the prosecution should have undertaken these investigations a long time ago and that there was no excuse for not doing it.  The ensuing argument resulted in an application to to have the prosecutor heard as a witness in his own case. As expected, this application was declined.

Finally, one of the accused wanted to make a statement, but the court ran out of time.