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https://www.opendemocracy.net/palestine-action-filton-24-charlotte-head-rajiv-menon-kc-contempt-of-court-judge-johnson/>
"England prides itself on its legal system, supposedly a pinnacle of fairness,
neutrality and justice.
Having faced two trials and 18 months’ incarceration before a verdict was even
reached, I’ve witnessed the falsity of these claims. Today will mark another
low: the lead barrister on my case, Rajiv Menon, will appear at the Royal
Courts of Justice accused of contempt of court over remarks he made in a
closing speech to the jury.
If found guilty, he’ll face up to two years in prison.
This is the first time in English legal history that a barrister has been
prosecuted for defending their client in this way. The Garden Chambers, where
Menon is a KC, has said it is “extremely concerned about the chilling effect on
the Bar of the state seeking to criminalise barristers for their representation
of their clients”. The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has warned that other
lawyers are now afraid of doing their jobs.
“[They] have become uncertain and scared of what they can and can’t say; scared
that somehow they might be – at the end of a trial where they have faithfully
represented their client themselves – facing a charge of criminal contempt,”
said Riel Karmy-Jones KC, chair of the CBA. “It is starting to feel like it’s
about the politics of the subject matter of the trial, rather than the core
principles of how a barrister represents his client.”
That has certainly been my experience."
Via Seph.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
