Rebel Justice

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In this episode Trystan speaks with Bernadette Emerson, an activist and campaigner with IPP Committee In Action, fighting to end the ongoing IPP sentences still in place. IPPs sentences are indeterminate prison sentences which can leave prisoners locked up for decades, often over relatively minor crimes. They have been controversial ever since they were created by Blair's New Labour government, and have even been abolished for over a decade. Despite this, those who were carrying out IPP sentences at the time they ended were not cleared, meaning thousands are still carrying out these sentences today, unsure if or even when they will ever leave. Bernadette knows these horrific injustices well - her partner is in prison today for a minor theft that occurred decades ago, and with no end in sight. Bernadette gives us her insights on this wholly unjust prison sentence, from the political background of this shoddy legislation, to the impacts it's had and continues to have on individuals and families. 

You can learn more about IPP Committee in Action work on their website, at https://ippcommitteeinaction.com

We are also calling on any of you who would be interested in getting involved to write to your MP, asking them to support an Early Day Motion put forward in part due to the work of IPP Committee in Action. The motion calls for an end to the ongoing sentences. If you're short on time, please feel free to copy and paste the following template and amend to include your name - it would be fantastic to get more MPs to push forward on this issue, and with enough pressure it just might happen!

Find MP: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/

TEMPLATE EMAIL:

Dear [MP],

I'm emailing about the horrendous injustices of ongoing IPP sentences, a decade since then justice secretary Ken Clarke abolished them, calling them a "stain" on our justice system. 

The latest figures suggest there are still nearly 3000 people serving such sentences. This is having a devastating impact on their lives and countless others, such as their families and loved ones. Those in prison are often serving sentences for crimes committed nearly two decades ago, initially being given short tariffs, and yet are still inexplicably carrying out those sentences today, with no end in sight. In many cases this punishment has far outweighed the crimes initially committed, a great number being nonviolent crimes often as minor as petty theft. Even within the Commons there seems little opposition to ending these sentences from MPs of all parties, such that it seems merely a matter of pushing for steps to be taken to finally address this oversight. 

The ongoing devastation on families torn apart by these IPP sentences must come to an end. I understand an Early Day Motion was tabled in September of last year, and I would be so happy to see you, as my MP, signing it. 

Best regards,

[NAME]

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For the fifth and last in our series featuring refugee voices, Trystan speaks with Parwana Amiri, an amazing activist and poet who gained international recognition on the release of her book of poetry, written while living a refugee camp -  “Letters from Moria: My Pen Will Not Break, But Borders Will”.
Parwana left Afghanistan with her family when she was just 15 years old and arrived in Greece, first living in Moria and then Ritsona refugee camps, both notorious for the appalling conditions faced by refugees there. During this time, Parwana began joining community groups such as self organised schools for the children living there, as well becoming an increasingly vocal political activist, rallying people to protest and fight back against the way refugees were treated.

Parwana tells us her incredible story and shares some beautiful poetry from her recent book, 'We Will Fly Higher'.
If you'd like to, you can get a copy of Parwana's new book here:

https://www.bookdepository.com/We-Will-Fly-Higher-Parwana-Amiri/9781911587644?ref=grid-view&qid=1674754764569&sr=1-1

You can also follow Parwana on Twitter: @parwana_amiri

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In this fourth episode of our refugee series, host Trystan speaks with Lucky Khambule, a refugee from South Africa living in Ireland, and founder of MASI, the movement of asylum seekers in Ireland. 

After first claiming asylum, Lucky then spent years waiting to find out if his application would be successful, and if he could remain in Ireland as his new home. This isn't unusual, and is in fact the common experience of anyone going through the asylum process, under a system called 'Direct Provision'. Under this system, 

the government will directly provide the essentials of food and accommodation, but prohibit just about any means of building a life beyond that. A record of nearly 12,000 people are currently living in this limbo, unable to get a job and access any sort of meaningful income, and waiting months if not years to know whether their claim will be successful or they’ll be deported. Lucky joins us today to tell us about the impact Direct Provision can have on someone, as well as some of the amazing ways MASI have been fighting back. 

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In this third episode of our refugee series, host Trystan speaks with Dr S Chelvan, an activist human rights lawyer and head of immigration and law at 33 Bedford Row, to learn about the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ refugees when claiming asylum. When Dr Chelvan started, there was no model at all for processing LGBTQ+ asylum applications, which led to some appalling situations. Perhaps most notoriously, the Home Office could at times engage in an hugely inappropriate and invasive line of questioning, expecting someone claiming asylum to somehow 'prove' they were LGBTQ+. Such refugees were often met with disbelief, with enormous pressure to adhere to a usually straight, cis officer's expectations of what an LGBTQ+ person was like in order to gain the right to remain. Entering this context, Dr Chelvan has achieved worldwide recognition for his work supporting the asylum claims of LGBTQ+ people, as well as having created the Difference, Stigma, Shame and Harm (or DSSH) model, a humane and positive tool to process LGBTQ+ asylum claims, now used around the world, allowing countless people to find refuge in a new country. 

You can follow Dr Chelvan on twitter @S_Chelvan

- as well as on Mastodon, @[email protected]

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In this second part of our refugee series, host Trystan speaks to Abdulwahab Tahhan, a Syrian refugee who's since moved to Hong Kong where he is now a lecturer, academic, journalist, stand up comedian and host of the podcast Integrate That. Integrate That is a podcast that aims to challenge some of the media narratives by centering refugee voices telling their story themselves. In stark contrast to a media climate where refugees voices are often minimised or completely absent, Integrate That features guests with lived experience of relocation and seeking asylum telling their account, which can be moving, harrowing, and oftentimes even hilarious, finding humour in the challenges faced. 

You can listen to Abdul's work here: https://shows.acast.com/integrate-that

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In the first episode of our series exploring the challenges facing refugees, our host Alex speaks with Debora Kayembe - human rights lawyer, political activist, and the first black woman to ever become Rector of the University of Edinburgh. Debora was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she started her life of activism fighting for human rights with Toges Noires, then qualifying as a barrister. As a human rights lawyer investigating the abuses that occurred during the Second Congo War, Debora's involvement uncovering the atrocities that were committed placed her in great danger, forcing her to leave her home country and try to find refuge in the UK. Debora tells us about the enormous challenges she met on arrival, including one night being left to sleep on the streets while seven months pregnant, without any support from local services. Her case eventually gained national recognition, with even the then Home Secretary Jack Straw coming to support her right to remain. Since then, she has had a prolific career fighting against racism and other societal barriers that lead to the human rights abuses refugees face today. Debora joins Rebel Justice to tell us her incredible story. 

If you'd like to support Debora, you can find more about her Freedom Walk campaign here:

https://www.facebook.com/FullOptions.TheFreedomWalk/videos/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0

You can also follow her on social media, here: 

Twitter: @DKAYEMBE

Debora's Blog: https://t.co/ectyDtrCBb

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Jeremy Moore is a serious fighter for justice for the underdog. He’s acted on some of the most high profile appeal cases and won them. 

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In the week when COP 27 and the reality of the climate crisis hits home, Trystan Kent speaks with Sarah Webb, a climate justice activist who went to prison for peaceful non violent protest.

TW: This episode contains profanity and state endorsed violence against women in prison including graphic descriptions of pain inducement for restraint.

 Sarah has been engaging in civil disobedience protests for several years now - she was recently arrested and jailed for her peaceful protests, which included blocking an entrance to Kingsbury Oil Terminal, and sitting on top of an oil tanker to prevent it from moving.

While in prison, Sarah continued her campaigning, resisting the prison guards and holding signs claiming she was a political prisoner on protest, for which she received violent, harmful treatment including the deliberate infliction of pain by prison guards.

Sarah speaks with us about what motivated her to join Just Stop Oil and to face arrest in such a deliberate way, what the threat of climate change means to her, as well as some background on the political, social and media landscape of collusion  that enables the climate emergency to continue.


To support Just Stop Oil check out their web page here.

Host and Producer: Trystan Kent
Post Production Sound: Oliver Freiberg
Cover Art: Margaret Reid

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What do we do with people who commit the worst offences? Should they be allowed to be rehabilitated and forgiven, given a second chance to reintegrate and become productive members of society?  Should they be shunned forever and thrown on the human garbage heap reserved specially for women who commit serious crimes?

This week Alexandra Enuc our host speaks with Eleni Psillakis in Australia whose crime we can't write about due to an injunction - she explains her process and thinking around this ban .

Are some crimes easier to forgive than others? Who judges? Who makes those decisions to say someone is repentant and can be afforded redemption?
Her own experiences and acceptance of the life traumas she went through  have led to a change of direction and career pathway and today she manages a successful business helping women with convictions get into rewarding and sustainable paid work.

We invite you to suspend judgement and listen to this brave woman's experience and how she survived and recovered from the brutality of Australia's criminal justice system.

For more on Success Works, see here.
To follow Eleni on LinkedIn click here.

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This week,  our presenter Iulia is speaking to two ex-prison officers who've written a dark comedy about their experiences. Harriet and Ella signed up to a graduate scheme become front-line workers in a men's prison and women's prison respectively, and emerged hardened and, in their words, 'brutalised'.

Their play, Cell Outs, navigates the dissonance between humour and the harsh realities of prisons. We talk about difficult subjects such as trauma, but also about aubergines and the importance of laughter in dark times. The officers have emerged from this dark experience of being made to feel sub-human and forcing themselves to make others feel sub-human wiser, and offer an alarming and important insight into the state of our prison system, as it exists. 

Their play will be touring the UK over the next few months, do look out for it coming to a city near you, soon.  For last minute tickets this week, check out the link below for the performance at the  Pleasance Theatre. 

For tickets, go to https://www.glasshousetheatre.co.uk/

Social media: https://www.instagram.com/glasshousetheatre/?hl=en-gb

 This episode was hosted by Iulia Teodorescu and produced by Trystan Kent.

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