From: Eugene McElroy <emcelroy@igc.org>
Newsgroups: alt.activism
Date: 21 Jul 92 12:36 PDT
Subject: Info on the Boston Three
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1296500257:000:6193
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!emcelroy    Jul 21 12:36:00 1992


From: Eugene McElroy <emcelroy>
Subject: Info on the Boston Three

                        THE BOSTON THREE:
        THE TRIAL AND CONVICTION OF THREE IRISH ACTIVISTS
             AT THE BEHEST OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
                           **********

     Richard Johnson, (41) Martin Quigley (27) and Christina Reid
(26) were the victims of an elaborate FBI trap that took seven
years to spring and utilized more than 100 FBI agents in a number
of different states. The sting was so exhaustive that in the
Boston area alone the feds bugged more than 900 telephone booths.
     At the end of the day, the FBI botched the operation and the
US government were left to prosecute these three Irish political
activists on extremely dubious conspiracy charges of conspiring
to violate export laws and to develop a missile system to shoot
down British military helicopters in the North of Ireland.
     The trial was a travesty. Federal Judge A. David Mazzone
left observers in no doubt that he favored the prosecution by
giving the FBI free reign and continuously restricting defense
attorneys efforts to defend their clients.
     In their elaborate efforts to prejudice the jury and gain a
conviction, the FBI built a bomb and blew up a government van--
all of which was filmed and presented to the jury on videotape.
This was allowed by Mazzone despite the fact that the FBI
admitted that the devices used were irrelevant to the case.
     Despite the years of surveillance the government could not
come up with a single weapon. Without concrete evidence the
prosecution told the court that perfectly legal items, found in
the possession of the defendants, were to be converted into bomb
and missile parts. As a result bits of wire, coffee cans, nuts
and bolts, and even an Irish newspaper with a photograph of a
helicopter were admitted as evidence to prove this conspiracy.
     The law used against the defendants, the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was enacted to protect the
U.S. against foreign threats and had never been used in
prosecuting a case. Its unusual use in this case was another
illustration of the extent the government was willing to go to
gain convictions in this case.
     The convictions in August 1990 were inevitable given the
conduct of the trial. The jury deliberated for only six hours
before handing down the guilty verdicts. The British pressure on
the Justice Department to use such measures against Irish
activists was once again successful.
     Mazzone's antagonism to the defense took on a new level of
vindictiveness when he added extra time to Johnson and Quigley's
sentences because he deemed them a "threat to national security."
     In an appeal against the convictions, noted Harvard law
professor Alan Dershowitz argued before a federal appeals court
that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act--first used
against the defendants--was a violation of the First Amendment.
The law forbids the possession of written materials that could be
used to commit an offense while "aiding a foreign power". He also
argued that the sentences were excessive.
     The appeals court upheld the convictions and sentences.
Other avenues of appeal are being considered.
     
                            The Need

     During the course of this trial and appeal, the defendants
incurred more than 300,000 dollars in legal fees. In particular,
Richard Johnson's elderly parents are now destitute as a result
of their efforts to defend their son's constitutional rights.
     The prosecution of these three Irish activists had the
weight of the U.S law enforcement agencies and the justice
Department behind it. It came about because of the continued
influence of the British government on our system of law. That
influence has as its object the suppression of the struggle of
the Irish people for unity, independence and justice.

                   An Appeal from Joe Doherty 

     "I feel the pain of injustice in the continuing
incarceration of Richard Johnson, Martin Quigley and Christina
Reid, held as political pawns at the behest of U.S. foreign
policy obligations to the British. The Boston Three are indeed at
the brunt of an anti-Irish campaign within the United States
government to appease Britain.
     The facts of this conspiracy against three American citizens
point to an attack not only on their individual rights, but also
on the rights of everyone. The undermining of constitutional
guarantees in this Anglo-American conspiracy should spur us all
on in rallying to the defense of the Boston Three. We must
dedicate and re-dedicate ourselves to their defense and to the
defense of the American constitution.
     It is too late for me to do anything given my own
circumstances here in the occupied Six Counties, but Richard
Johnson, Martin Quigley and Christina Reid need you now. This
legal appeal must be supported by political pressure from the
community. The U.S. Justice Department must hear the voices of
protest against this vindictive anti-Irish campaign of
imprisoning Irish-Americans.
                           Joe Doherty
                      H-Block 3, Long Kesh
                           **********

                        The Boston Three

Richard Johnson--Worked as an engineer in the defense and space
industry. He is presently serving a ten year jail sentence.

Martin Quigley--Grew up near the Irish border in County Louth. He
had been in the United States only a matter of months when he was
arrested. Deeming him to be a threat to the community, Judge
Mazzone doubled Quigley's sentence from four to eight years.

Christine Reid--Only recently graduated from college as an
electrical engineer when she was arrested at her job by the FBI.
Christina had been active since her childhood in Irish activities
in her native S.F. Bay Area.
Funds are needed NOW!!

     
                    Boston Three Defense Fund
                        c/o Larry Downes
                    319 Broadway, Third Floor
                    New York, New York  10007

                        tel: 212-798-9088
                          212-876-2574
                          212-584-0048
                           **********

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