Jaggi Singh`s Bail Hearing, part i. Absurd accusations. Trumped up charges. Human rights abuses. Lawyers, Activists shocked, worried. Latest as of 12:30 Weds. April 25, 2001. Qc City.

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Jaggi Singh`s bail hearing began this morning at the Quebec `Palais de Justice`` (CourtHouse). Already it is clear that Mr. Singh is being unfairly targeted as a `leader of the movement`, and held in police custody on trumped up charges, declared Master W. Sloan, President of the Canadian section of the Association of American Jurists, and one of the lawyers involved in the defense.

The trial is being held via videoconference from a jail cell at the Orsainville Prison, which means that the accused cannot make eye contact with the judge and other court members, nor see the many people present in his support. The acoustics of the room are also bad, so the jam-packed room had trouble listening to the proceedings (which for the most part were carried out in French).

This is a case where a prominent political activist is being turned into a scapegoat. Master Sloan stressed that it is "highly unusual" that someone who has never publicly advocated violence and is even known to be a pacifist, should have been so minutely observed by three different security forces, so that the RCMP, the SQ (=Qc. Provincial Police) and the Quebec City municipal police -- not to mention probably CSIS-- were carrying Jaggi's photo around in their pocket.

A Quebec City police officer named Mr. Colin put forth his evidence against Mr. Singh, detailing the conditions and reasons for the arrest. There were 2 charges: possession of a dangerous weapon, and having taken part in a riot on April 20, 2001. At the time of the "arrest" -- some consider it a kidnapping -- the cops were undercover. Mr. Colin said the detainee's rights were read to him while in the van, at which point Jaggi shook his head violently. There were also moments when the audience could scarcely contain guffaws of incredulity as Mr Singh's supposed behavior that night was described. Among the most far-fetched, there is the accusation that Mr Singh gave the order to charge with the catapult --
a form of leadership which is anathema to the decentralised, affinity-group based, movement to which he belongs.

Interview with Judy Rebick, whose Group Claims Responsibility for the Catapult

``This is the worse case of abuse of human rights i`ve ever seen in a courtroom``, said Judy Rebick who has monitored activist legal procedure for 35 years. ``They`ve turned Jaggi into a political prisoner. There is no evidence against Jaggi, certainly not with respect to the catapult, because i was involved in the catapult and not Jaggi. `` Indeed, in a witty document marked ``For Immediate Release` , DIST a group of 'anonymous anarchist academics who specialize in revolutionary studies" claimed full responsibility for the said weapon, which was used to launch teddy bears and other harmless arsenal, she said. "Anyone who knows this movement knows noone orders anyone to the barricade", she added. "The charges are absurd. What they're trying to do is to keep him in jail for as long as possible because they know the charges will not stand up in court. It's really shocking."
For more info about DIST, visit: http://tao.ca/~wrench/dist .

Relief funds still urgently needed to help bail prisoners out. Visit >www.quebec2001.net