The whole case amounts to nothing more than a political prosecution. aimed at my political views.' This point was put to the jury by Taria Ali when he summed up in his defence at the end of the Bradford 12 case last week.
He claimed that when he arrived at the police station the police had carried out a real political interrogation anything else'.
Paul Kennedy summed up for the prosecution the previous Friday relying largely on voluntary statements defendents had made police . custody: Deriding the 'self defence' argument ne stated that the jury might conclude that the number of racis! attacks on Asians in Bradford was disproportionate' to their numbers in the city.
Starting the summing ip for the defence, Mike Mansfield showed how the police investigation from the start had been biased by their view that the petrol bombers must have been intended for •copy cat' riots in Bradford.
For example, the police made no attempt to check Tarlochan Gata-auras' evidence that the 4th Idea bookshop in received warning of possible fa from a Daly's Daly's bookshop.
Mansfield argued that agallist suck all allack Was 'fun. damental right' and 'matter of common law Mansfield repeated defence argument suD' ported by two explosive experts that petrol bombs were not explosives at all.
He finished trom book bi Malcolm taken the houses: 'I believe that we should defend ourselves by any. necessary against racist attacks.' Paddy O'Connor, for Malik, was told by the judge SLUL political speeches' after he pointed out how racism derived from Britain's colonial past and that victims of racist violence were expected to rely 'on the very people and state that had pushed them into second class citizenship when they arrived here. ence cade, Helena Kene defence case, nedy said: 'If this was political trial beforehand it became one when Paul Kennedy asked the jury kind society they wanted to live in. verdict would be a declaration of the society you want to live in — a society free from racist violence or fear.
Summing up the case Judge Beaumont brusher such arguments aside. He said it was a 'clear criminal case'. He said that self defence was 'perhaps the central issue in the • case and the law 'required that the means be reasonable and in proportion to the circumstances' jury retired to consider the verdinere Tuesday morning.
There will be a picket Armley jail on Saturday 19 June at noon any of defendents are convicted.
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