October 15th Solidarity

When: Friday, 3 February 2012
Time: 6pm-8pm
Where: Mezzanine Meeting Room, Central Library, Wellington

The trial of the four remaining defendants in the Urewera raids case is due to begin in the Auckland High Court on 13 February. Come along to our public forum and update to find out what the issues are and why this is the one of the most important political cases in the history of this country.

Tena koutou,

you probably haven't heard much in recent weeks about the upcoming trial for Taame, Rangi, Emily and Urs. The four are the last to still face charges from the state terror raids of 15th October 2007 and their trial will start on 13th February 2012 in the Auckland High Court. This date has been confirmed which means we all have less than TWO MONTHS to get ready and do what we can to support.

There is plenty of things you can do. Here are a few ideas:

Some Justice, a book of political poems and lyrics by local Wellington
punk poet and songwriter Ken Vicious, will be launched by Rebel Press on
Saturday 17 December at 7pm at Thistle Hall on Cuba Street.

The book features Urewary: An Act of Conspiracy a poem written in the
immediate aftermath of the 2007 ‘terror raids’ in Te Urewera and around
the country. It lyrically sums up the whole of the police’s Operation 8
and the wider political context of the war on terrorism.

Tena koutou,

Four years ago, the NZ police conducted a paramilitary invasion of Ruatoki. Four years have passed and there is still no apology for raiding a school bus with armed police, for locking a whole family up in a shed for hours with no food or water, for making kids kneel on the ground with police pointing their guns at their heads for targetting a whole community in a racist operation. Four years on, four people still face charges!

The International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) welcomes the announcement that 13 of the 17 defendants in the so called ‘terror raids’ trial in New Zealand have had all their charges dropped.  We call for all the charges against the remaining four defendants to also be dropped. 

FRIDAY - OCTOBER 14TH, 2011 - FOUR YEARS OF STATE TERROR.

Free Gig to commemorate the four-year anniversary of the State Terror Raids on communities throughout Aotearoa, and to celebrate the on-going solidarity and support for the defendants.

Featuring Riki Gooch, Mara TK, Imon Starr, Vanessa Stacey, DJ Hammondhead, Mikki D, Sheeq n La, and Benny Tones.

Venue: Southern Cross, Abel Smith Street
Time: from 9pm 

“The unanimous decision by the Supreme Court that all of the police video evidence in the Urewera case was illegal should come as no surprise to anyone, least of all the police. It is blatantly obvious that the police never had this power and what it shows is that the police have been willfully disregarding the law for years,’ said Valerie Morse, former defendant.

It can now be revealed that the remaining four defendants in the court case against political activists came unbelievably close to also having their charges dropped after a majority verdict in the Supreme Court earlier in the month.

“The new indictment presented by the Crown in the Urewera case is utterly unsubstantiated by any credible evidence. The Crown did not bring the ‘criminal group’ charges until more than a year after the original arrests on 15 October 2007, and after the preliminary depositions hearing in September 2008 so they did not even have to make a prima facie case (a case on the face of it)” said Valerie Morse.

Taranaki environmental activists facing charges alongside Tame Iti in the wake of the Urewera "terror raids" four years ago are calling for a jury of their peers to hear the case against them.

Urs Signer and Emily Bailey, along with Tame Iti and Rangikaiwhiria Kemara, have denied participating in a criminal group and firearms charges.

Last week, the Crown dropped firearms charges against 13 others.

The Crown originally sought trial by judge alone but yesterday morning, the Supreme Court granted the defence appeal for a trial by jury.