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This is an incomplete post and it will be updated as more information is supplied to me.
Many of you have heard of the Gary McKinnon case where the lop sided extradition treaty signed by the Labour Government with the United States allows citizens of the the United Kingdom to be extradited to the US without any evidence being presented.
Until two nights ago I had not heard of Brian Howes and his wife who face 98 years in jail in Arizona and their children being taken into care.
Brian ran a pyrotechnic chemicals supply company that was registered with the Home office and the Special Branch. He has never been arrested for any crime in this country, yet he and his wife have already spent seven months in jail separated from their children. He has never been to Arizona.
The Arizona DEA allege, without supplying any evidence, that he was supplying chemicals that could be used to make crystal meth, I understand from Brian that a senior police officer from the UK has already been to the States to accept an award for apprehending a ‘dangerous felon’ ( Brian and his wife have yet to be convicted of anything in either country).
I am waiting for further information from Brian but it looks as though the DEA set up two sites to entrap people in the States purchasing chemicals and fed these through Brian’s company. Brian has not been charged with any crime here whatsoever, and no evidence has been supplied to the UK for extradition because there is no requirement to do so under the 2003 treaty.
Last Friday Brian and his wife were compelled to attend their last extradition hearing. Brian’s wife is heavily pregnant and asked to be excused as she was feeling so unwell. This was refused.
During the course of the hearing Brian’s wife went into premature Labour, they asked leave of the Court during an adjournment that his wife could be taken to hospital. It took 15 minutes for a Judge to come back to give the Court’s permission for her to be taken to Hospital, the Judge did however release Brian to go with her.
The Hospital want to give the baby the best possible chance of survival by staying within the womb for as long as possible. As I write Brian and his wife are again en route to hospital as she is in so much pain.
The Mail on Sunday are running with this story on Sunday. I said to Brian that I did not want to queer their story and Brian’s publicity, by releasing this story now. He has asked that this gets out now as they are desperate and have lost all their money in defending this.
If they have committed a crime here they should be charged here, if the US want to extradite them provide the evidence first.
This 2003 Treaty should be scrapped or put under moratorium. You can help, please retweet this, write to your MP, write a blog post, just do something for a very desperate family.
How many of our fellow citizens are facing this ?
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January 20, 2011 at 12:47 -
I’ve just emailed my MP, this is egregious and shows the cowardice and self interest of our yellow MPs who won’t stand up against a bully.
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January 20, 2011 at 13:14 -
I’ve followed John’s lead and emailed my own MP. I’m finding the machinations of government more vile and detestable by the day.
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January 20, 2011 at 13:35 -
I’ll be doing the same, though whether a new Tory in a safe seat will give a stuff about what some mouthy expatriate thinks is anyone’s guess. Can’t hurt, though.
What also caught my attention is where this is going on, because I recall JuliaM blogging last week about another British businessman supplying chemicals with potentially dangerous uses to Arizona. In neither case should the supplier be responsible for any misuse the customer puts them to, but of course in reality this only applies to the one supplying a state government which openly admits it will use them to kill people with.
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January 20, 2011 at 14:14 -
January 20, 2011 at 15:46 -
Why do things seem to be accelerating? Shocking, disgusting, inhuman violations are coming thick and fast. There’s a crushing sense of unstoppable momentum that leaves me at a loss. I had been planning an expat/ location independent life to escape all this so I am already aware of US extraterritoriality. US citizens must pay US tax on their income no matter where it is earned, where the citizen lives or where the profits are saved. There is no strictly legal escape for the Americans and I’m sure within 1080 years we’ll have it too.
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January 20, 2011 at 15:47 -
Why do things seem to be accelerating? Shocking, disgusting, inhuman violations are coming thick and fast. There’s a crushing sense of unstoppable momentum that leaves me at a loss. I had been planning an expat/ location independent life to escape all this so I am already aware of US extraterritoriality. US citizens must pay US tax on their income no matter where it is earned, where the citizen lives or where the profits are saved. There is no strictly legal escape for the Americans and I’m sure within 10 years we’ll have it too.
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January 20, 2011 at 17:07 -
I came across this post because I run a website dedicated to people with the name Howes. It’s a simple outrage. Only this afternoon the UK government announced that it would not detain terrorist suspects for more than 14 days without trial, and yet this couple remain in chokey for way longer than that. I have written to my MP too.
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January 20, 2011 at 17:14 -
January 20, 2011 at 17:40 -
“It took 15 minutes for a Judge to come back to give the Court’s permission for her to be taken to Hospital…”
Maybe I’m misremembering, but isn’t it down to the paramedics to decide in a medical emergency case..?
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January 20, 2011 at 17:46
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January 20, 2011 at 18:38 -
Perhaps they need a good US lawyer to point out that guns are dangerous if used in certain ways and shouldn’t be supplied to people in Arizona either. If the chemicals had a legitimate use then to me it’s the same argument.
But yes, it’s high time this treaty was binned. Has the US ratified it yet, or is it still a one-way street? If so, the very least we should do is suspend it until it is fully reciprocal.
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January 20, 2011 at 18:58 -
The state of Arizona is only incidentally related to this matter. The Drug-Enforcement Administration is a branch of the Department of Justice, part of the federal government. The treaty is one between the United States (sc. the federal government) and the United Kingdom (sc. the Labour Party ; or is that the Lib.-Dems. or the Conservatives ? A stinkweed by any other name would smell as foul).
Even had the Senate ratified the treaty (for all I know it has), the imbalance between the obligations of the two parties would remain.
ΠΞ
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January 20, 2011 at 21:42 -
I have no hesitation in agreeing that dispensing with the requirement for prima facie evidence is wrong, not just in respect of the U.S. and others, but with fellow E.U. members. I can’t see, though, how it might have helped in the case of Mr & Mrs Howes. Indeed, I think the Sheriff’s decision is suspect over the section 20 issue – it’s the alleged conduct, not the charges preferred by the requesting country.
Do you know when the result of the appeal is likely?
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January 22, 2011 at 00:27 -
Whilst I do not agree with the extradition treaty there are some astounding facts relating to this case. Brian Howes is still wanted in Arkansas for another serious crime.
http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/doc1.html
Section 58, paragraphs 5 & 8 are the most significant as this details further serious crimes commited by Brian Howes whilst he lived in Arkansas. These crimes involve the sexual abuse of a six year old child.
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January 22, 2011 at 15:42 -
@annaraccoon2010 shld this tweet be deleted? “Please retweet – Please support Brian Howes – UK extradition” -> https://www.annaraccoon.com/politics/righ...
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January 22, 2011 at 16:38 -
Thank you for publishing the second article. I too withdraw my support for this man. The treaty remains an outrage, however
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