[van-announce] Update and Support Callout For the Hastings Seven

[Stephanie Smith]

******Please circulate widely*********

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2005

UPDATE & SUPPORT CALL-OUT
for the
HASTINGS SEVEN

One year ago, seven East Vancouver residents were brutally beaten 
by members of the Vancouver Police. Adding insult to substantive 
injury, the assaulted individuals were then slapped with 
trumped-up charges that they now face in court. The trial of the 
"Hastings Seven" is scheduled for April 13-22 and they need your 
help.

The seven who suffered this violent indignity at the hands of the 
VPD on February 29, 2004, face a variety of charges including 
mischief and obstruction, with two individuals also facing 
several counts of assaulting a police officer. Despite the 
seriousness of the charges and the protracted trial, the Legal 
Services Society has refused legal aid funding to all but one of 
the defendants. Due to this, four accused are without legal 
counsel - a serious concern given the complexity of the issues in 
this case and the possible sentences.

With barely a month before the trial is to begin, the VPD has 
still not disclosed all its "evidence" - choosing instead to 
misrepresent the facts of the case at press conferences. This 
attempt at trial by media is an effort to divert the public from 
the facts of the case.

Unfortunately, brutalizing and then attacking individuals (and in 
some cases, their families) in the media is not new to the VPD. 
The results of several studies conducted by PIVOT Legal and other 
international human rights organizations point to routine 
negligence, use of excessive force, and human rights abuses by 
members of the Vancouver Police Department.

Given all these circumstances, it is unlikely that anyone 
involved in this incident will get a fair trial. Defence lawyers 
plan to file complaints citing an abuse of process and violations 
under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

This case is about all Vancouver people who value their rights. 
We are asking for your help:

Make a financial donation to help cover legal costs. Please make 
money orders or cheques payable to: "Hastings Legal Defense"  PO 
Box 21627 Little Italy Post Office 1424 Commercial Dr Vancouver 
V5L 5G3

Demand from Chief of Police Jamie Graham that the charges be 
dropped and an investigation be launched into police behavior in 
this incident. Contact Chief Graham at (604) 717-3535, VPD 
switchboard or police_chief at city.vancouver.bc.ca

Contact BC Attorney General Geoff Plant to demand an independent 
inquiry into the misconduct by the Vancouver Police Department. 
Contact Attorney General Plant at (250) 387-1886, or by fax at 
(250) 387-6411.  (You can reach these numbers toll-free from 
Vancouver if you call Enquiry BC at (604) 660-2421).

Call Mayor Larry Campbell (Chair of the Police Board) and demand 
that he support the Hastings Seven in their request for a stay of 
proceedings/charges and in their request for an independent 
inquiry into the misconduct of the Vancouver Police Department. 
You can contact Mayor Campbell at larry.campbell at vancouver.ca, 
phone (604) 873-7621.

Help or volunteer to organize legal aid benefits to cover legal 
costs. Contact Hastings Legal Defence at black_ant at resist.ca.

For more information or to show your support! Contact Jessica 
Piert (778) 868-8175 Email: jessica at resist.ca.



Background Information: The original news release and photographs 
from the February 29, 2004, incident are at 
http://resist.ca/~vpdbrutality

Reports on VPD abuses by PIVOT, PACE (Prostitution Alternatives 
and Counseling), and Human Rights Watch can be downloaded at 
http://www.pivotlegal.org/complaint/index.html