What I would like to share with people, about what has happened to us, is the underlying reasons why we were physically removed from the boat; taken into custody and then deported from the UK, when we did nothing wrong.
The boat, which I, a New Zealand and therefore British-Commonwealth citizen, am the owner of, is a New Zealand flagged vessel and is therefore New Zealand territory when in international waters, but falls under the jurisdiction of host nations when inside that nation’s territorial waters. Under normal circumstances, if a foreign-flagged vessel enters a nation’s territorial waters and is denied entry into that nation, it is given a set time-period in which it must depart from that nation’s territorial-waters, otherwise it can be arrested. Since the boat itself is New Zealand territory when in international waters, sending it and us out of British waters would be the quickest and most efficient way of deporting us, minimizing the cost to the tax payer, who had to fork-out thousands of pounds to pay for our deportation.
But in our case, the standard refusal of entry procedure was not taken, because there were political motivations at work.
We are supporters of Mr. John Anthony Hill, who produced a documentary film titled “7/7 Ripple Effect”, which was released on the internet on 5th. November 2007 and questions the official account of the events surrounding the London tube-train and bus bombings of 7th. July 2005. It is available to watch on the Internet by Googling the name “7/7 Ripple Effect”.
In 2008, Mr. Hill posted copies of his film “7/7 Ripple Effect” as an “amicus curiae brief” (friend of the court) to a UK courthouse where a trial was being held of three men who were connected to the original four alleged bombers. He did this because the judge and the prosecuting barrister in that case told the jury that there was no doubt that the four original alleged bombers were guilty of committing those crimes, when that allegation has never been proven in a court of law and millions of people doubt that they did it.
Mr. Hill faces the charge of “attempting to pervert the course of justice, contrary to common law”, but he believes he was seeking to prevent a perversion of the course of justice by sending copies of his film; which calls into question whether the four original alleged bombers were actually guilty of committing those crimes; to the courthouse.
Mr. Hill was extradited from his home in Ireland to the UK in November 2010 and was held in prison for 150 days, until he has only recently been granted bail, awaiting his trial which is to be held on the May 9th this year.
We sailed to London from Ireland to support Mr. Hill at his trial. Upon arrival in London and visiting immigration, we were told that we could not be allowed entry into the country because London was not our first port of call and that we should have cleared immigration within 24 hours of entering British waters, at our first port of call, which was the remote bird sanctuary called Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel.
Because we hadn’t done that, the Immigration officers said they therefore could not grant us entry under their rules. They then advised us to go across to Europe and then re-enter the UK again and this time clear immigration within 24 hours of our arrival.
This we did, sailing to Holland and then down the Belgium and French coasts, and then back across the channel to the UK, arriving at Weymouth.
Upon arrival at Weymouth, we contacted immigration within 24 hours of arrival as instructed, and asked for clearance to enter the country as visitors. Instead of being welcomed into the country as we had hoped, we were forcibly taken off the boat and into custody, with only the clothes we were wearing, and were quickly deported to our respective countries of origin, being denied the right to appeal the deportation.
Although it was not stated directly to us by the British authorities, the friend whom I contacted to come and take care of the boat for me was told by British customs officers who were searching the vessel when he arrived, that we were being deported from the UK because we are supporters of Mr. John Hill and that his is a politically sensitive court case, in which the state wants a minimal amount of public attention.
This was again confirmed when I landed at the Auckland International Airport in New Zealand and was clearing customs there. The customs officers took me into custody for an interview. During that interview, they stated to me that they were informed by British customs that I was a supporter of a man who is involved in a politically sensitive court case in the UK and that was the primary reason for my deportation.
So, to summarize; although it was not clearly stated to us, or officially recorded as a reason for our deportation, it has become clear that the real reason we have been taken from our home and all our worldly possessions – the boat and contents – and vindictively deported back to our respective countries of origin with nothing but the clothes on our backs, so the authorities could try to steal the boat, instead of the usual procedure of being turned-away and allowed to leave the country on the boat, is because we are supporters of a man in a trial that the authorities would rather nobody knows anything about, and they are doing everything in their power to see to it that this is so.
So what exactly was his crime? – Sending a DVD video as a friend of the court, in an attempt to prevent what he saw as being a perversion of the course of justice.
And what exactly was our crime? Supporting that man, in an effort to keep freedom of speech alive and because we believe what he has done is the right thing to do.
If they can do this to him and to us and nobody says anything about it, then no-one is safe and who will be next? You and yours perhaps?
We are now thousands of miles away from our home, the boat , without the ability to return to collect it, so now will have to sell it where it is, if we can.
Short URL: http://www.sovereignindependent.com/?p=18279
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