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Defend Aamer Anwar - Campaign update The Campaign so far Aamer Anwar is facing contempt of court proceedings as a result of a statement he made on behalf of his client, Mohammed Atif Siddique, who was convicted in September of "terrorism" offences connected with activities on the internet. Mohammed Atif Siddique insists he isn't a terrorist and will be appealing against the conviction. A procedural hearing before 3 High Court judges in Edinburgh on 7 December has set the stage for Aamer Anwar's contempt case to be heard early in 2008. We think that these legal steps threaten freedom of expression and threaten the ability of lawyers to represent their clients properly. Lawyers, public figures, community leaders and concerned citizens have put their names to an open letter supporting Aamer Anwar that was first published in The Herald newspaper on 8 November. The letter is still open for signatures and new support is coming in every day. The Muslim organisations of all the Glasgow mosques have formed a Muslim Action Committee to support Aamer Anwar -see http://tinyurl.com/295duz . Activists from all communities have been getting together regularly at meetings hosted by Glasgow Stop The War Coalition to discuss ways of supporting Aamer Anwar. Margo MacDonald MSP (Independent) tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament expressing concern about the case. But officers of the Parliament have closed the motion to new signatures, saying that Parliamentary rules prohibit MSPs from signing it now that proceedings have begun. We think that this is a very strict interpretation of the rules. But MSPs and others are still free to sign the Open Letter in support of Aamer Anwar. The Scottish legal magazine The Firm covered the case in its December edition. The Firm is urging readers to write directly to Richard Henderson, the President of the Law Society of Scotland, informing him of their views on Anwar's referral for contempt of court, whether they support the action, or oppose it - see http://www.firmmagazine.com/members/feature.php?id=353 Supporters of Aamer Anwar have set up a new website - http://defendaamer.wordpress.com Aamer Anwar continues to act as a campaigning lawyer committed to defending human rights, even though he cannot, for the moment, speak about his own case. He received a standing ovation when he spoke out against the government's proposed new terrorism laws at a well-attended public meeting on civil liberties held in Glasgow on 13 November. And on 29 November he joined other prominent legal figures and campaigners to speak out against these measures at a public meeting held in the UK Parliament at Westminster. He is also scheduled to speak at a public meeting about civil liberties being held in Edinburgh on 11 January 2008 (7.30pm, Augustine Church, George IV Bridge) to mark the 6th anniversary of the arrival of the first prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. CAMPAIGNING WORKS! Judges at the procedural hearing on 7 December acknowledged that public interest made it important for the case to be dealt with in an open way. The more support there is for Aamer Anwar, the fairer the legal process is likely to be. What You Can DoThe campaign to defend Aamer Anwar is developing apace. But the situation remains very worrying, not just for Aamer but for the health of the justice system in Scotland and elsewhere. We need your help. We need it urgently. Here's what you can do:
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