[antiwar-van] Jaggi Singh faces 6 months of jail time for attending Harper press conference

[Tony Tracy]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Peter Garden <pgarden at resist.ca>
Date: November 27, 2006 3:25:35 PM AST
Subject: Jaggi Singh faces 6 months of jail time for attending Harper 
press conference


For Immediate Release

Jaggi Singh faces 6 months of jail time for attending Harper press
conference

Press point at Singh's bail hearing
Monday, November 27, 2:30pm
Montreal municipal court,
775 Gosford street Room R-40

Contact: Louise-Caroline Bergeron, Block the Empire: 514-378-2511 Jared
Will, Jaggi Singh's legal advisor: 514-806-6260

Montreal, November 27 - Well-known social justice activist Jaggi Singh 
is
facing a potential 6 months in prison following his arrest at the 
Montreal
General Hospital on Friday, November 24, just prior to a press 
conference by
Stephen Harper. Singh was aggressively removed by Montreal police 
officers
from the room where he and other anti-war organizers were waiting to ask
Harper questions. The Crown is pushing to deny Singh bail on Monday, and
keep him in preventative custody until May, at which point he would 
stand
trial.

Singh and over two dozen other members of local anti-war group Block the
Empire were on hand to raise the issues of Canada's ongoing occupation 
of
Afghanistan, Harper's support for Israeli war crimes in Lebanon over the
summer, and Conservative cutbacks to social programs for women and the 
poor.
"Publicly challenging our elected leaders is a fundamental right in a
democratic society.   The fact that the crown wants to deny Jaggi Singh 
bail
and hold him in jail for 6 months for simply attending a press 
conference is
unjust and ridiculous," says Louise-Caroline Bergeron, a spokesperson 
for
Block the Empire. Singh will have his bail hearing on Monday, November 
27 at
2:30pm at the Montreal municipal court, 775 Gosford street, room R-40.

Contact: 514-378-2511
bloquezlempiremontreal at resist.ca

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