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ABU HAMZA TRIAL OPENS
during a very eventful week in london Abu hamza briefly appeared in
the famous "court one" of the old bailey. he was not obviously in as
bad state as some news reports may have suggested...
day one 5th July.
Abu Hamza arrived flanked by two photo fit slightly balding prison guards
with tattoos on their fore arms. The judge asked him to stand, and he
promptly
sat down. There was unintelligible discussion about this for a while,
between Hamza, the guards, his barrister and the judge. The judge eventually
concluded this by stating that he hoped Mr. Hamza was comfortable and
to tell him if he became uncomfortable, for which Mr. Hamza thanked him.
His first and last public words of the day. The judge almost immediately
ruled that no one could report the days proceedings until after the trial.
So instead I will tell you a story about a hat.
Over the last few days I have been ringing round the brothers to find
that a scheduled protest outside Belmarsh had been cancelled. Outside
court this morning I met Samir’s brother(see CAN
ANYONE LEND ME A XXXXING CAMERA) who was helping on the legal case.
He told me that Mr. Hamza had requested there should not be a “presence” on
this occasion. Only three of Hamza’s nearest and dearest joined
myself and various bemused tourists in the public gallery. One of these
guys had a classic North African style hat, with no brim and a tassle
as seen in films like Cassablanca and worn by famous comedian Tommy Cooper.
He made a joke out of the hat with Police outside, then with the guards
on the way in, and with everyone inside as we waited. He had a warm humour
about him. He told me that he was actually wearing the hat to lift Mr.
Hamzas’s spirits. Apparently it was a joke between them going back
many years. I had not seen the guy, or either of his friends at the mosque
before. He said that he had left Abu Hamza's house hours before his arrest,
suspicious of the build up in activity outside.
What else can I report through the judges gagging order? Oh, the lock
on the door of the gents on the way to the public gallery is bust. So
if you’re ever caught short at the Old Bailey you’ll have
to whistle loudly.
There was something strange and "Medieval London village" about
being in the famous court one of the Old Bailey with the same TV crews
and reporters who had put Hamza’s “kangaroo courtcase” together
on the street. Most of the day Mr. Hamza’s demeanour was downcast.
Once, he looked up at the public gallery and smiled. The man with the
hat smiled back and jiggled his hat.
day two 6th July
Day two of "legal arguments", even Mr. Hamza got bored and
left early. You often read of a defendant "showing no emotion" -an
apt way to describe Mr. Hamza for the hour or so he came up through the
underground tunnel today. Very strange watching such a big guy lean down
with a naked stump onto a stair rail.
It brought home how much Mr. Hamza's media image focuses on the hooks,
and how harmless he looks without them. The Judge and Mr. Fitzgerald,
barrister for the defence seemed to enjoy the detail whilst everyone
else fidgeted and struggled to stay awake. It's frustrating not being
able to go into any detail about events so far.
There are an interesting group of "trial watchers" who frequent
the public gallery currently watching the dramatic conclusions of Steven
Jenkins retrial, which is sharing court one with the Hamza case. Another
defendant who "Showed no emotion" for the short time I saw
him in the dock.
Knowing the trial clashed with the G8 it was an easy choice for me,
but I have a lot of friends at the protest. Following news of the disturbance
I was waiting to see one of them on TV. I didn't have to wait long. Channel
4 have been doing a week of truly epic news programs here in the UK,
taking in the views of world leaders, pop stars and people in the streets
of Africa live.
Todays program was no exception. The I.O.C., The French Prime Minister,
Our prime minister, Bush's first speech at the G8, as well
as a beautiful bunch of kids on the streets of Stratford in the east
end celebrating the sucessful olympic bid. Flashing up with all of this
were chaotic pictures from the Glenneagles protest including a guy who
came to stonehenge with us for the solstice:
"Did you see that? The Police just nicked my digeridoo man!"
If the Hamza trial wasn't on would I be in Scotland? Probably not. I
got bored shitless by the predictable nature of violence at protests
a long time ago. Both sides live up to each others expectations of each
other, nothing changes. For more views about the protest Stuart's
piece on indymediaUK is worth reading if you are interested.
Hamza trial continues 2.05 pm tomorow, protest continues ad nauseum.
Old Bailey tip from day 2: You can enter the public gallery at any time
if there is room, so do stop by if you are bored or interested in the
spectacle of British justice. Leaving your bag with the estate agents
over the road costs you £1. Leaving it with the Italians over the
road from the main entrance costs £2. They make lovely chicken
soup.
day three 7th July (Court closed due
to London Bombings)
day three 8th July
Name and shame all the bastards who profited from terror yesterday!
Fucking hotels doubling their prices. Wankers. Should be ashamed of themselves.
I found it understandably difficult to get anyone to look after my bag
outside the Old Bailey today.
The fucking Injuns in the Spar (small uk supermarket) wanted £5.
I went back to the Italians for £2 but was honestly suprised anyone
would take it in the circumstances. So happens a friend of mine walked
past who works in nearby leather lane so I am sorted for next week.
I've found another link. La
Stampa. Is that like, the La Stampa? As
in the Italian national newspaper?
And what does
Qualcuno saputo delle accuse ad Al Qaeda parla di Abu Hamza.
mean?
Is it another person calling me a fucking terrorist
lover?
I'm afraid I still can't tell you what is happening in court today.
I've considered sending my notes to Republican bloggers to publish in
America. Would that still be illegal? Don't want to piss the judge off.
I've actually heard a couple of cases quoted which might be helpful to
my squatting buddies.
I am a bit frustrated being a blogger who would like to scoop the big
boys, or the "MSM" as some Republicans seem to call it. Suffice to say
that if you know anything about this case the "legal arguments" taking
place are BLEEDIN' OBVIOUS ones.
I wish i could post a picture of all the journalists on the press bench
secretly reading their newspapers. Hamza's not interested, journalists
not interested, that leaves me, the judge and two barristers! Fuck it,
I'm going to blog about celebrities or reality TV instead.
As events unfolded I was unable to get to the Old Bailey to follow further
legal arguements
relevant news:
Footnote: Abu Hamza's trial opened proper in January 2006. I got to
the trial as much as I could and have recorded it on my blog. If you
are interested you'll need to start in my January
2006 archive.
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