Three MPs are condemning the decision by Jersey's magistrates' court to send former senator Stuart Syvret to prison.
Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming tabled a Commons motion claiming Mr Syvret was the victim of "political persecution". The 45-year-old has been jailed for 10 weeks after being convicted of contempt of court and breaking data protection laws. Mr Hemming wants the British government to raise concerns about his treatment.
As the BBC adds:
John Hemming, along with fellow Liberal Democrat Bob Russell and former Conservative minister Peter Bottomley, said he has been jailed for "criticising the Jersey establishment for its failures to enforce the rule of law". They say the sentence "is an attempt to frighten others away from raising concerns about the failings of the justice system in Jersey".
Stuart Syvret is a difficult man. I have had difficulties with him. But I also think he is strongly principled and courageous. And I believe the MPs are right to raise their concerns, which are, I think wholly justified.
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Stuart Syvret has been charged with contempt of court including spending 6 months on John Hemmings sofa. Their claim is therefore ludicrous because the last thing we want is everybody doing what he has done.
@Phil
What harm did he do?
And what consideration was given to sis, I suspect genuine fears and the impact they may have had on his mental health?
He was told if he apologised for running away for 6 months to avoid facing court he would not be sent to prison. He was told he could do community service. He refused to do either.
Unless you are suggesting that anyone accused of any crime has the right to run away until such time as he thinks fit, without any consequences, then it is hard to see how you can have sympathy with SS.
Anyway, I thought you would have wanted to defend the nurse who was named and accused of being a mass murderer without any evidence. Usually you are on the side of the individual.
@Frank Black
I’m not saying whether Stuart was right or wrong
I am saying that without a shadow of a doubt the prosecution was politically motivated and wholly disproportionate to the offence – if there was one
It is worth pointing out that the island’s sole daily newspaper – the Jersey Evening Post – decided that the Syvret story was more newsworthy than the trial of a couple indicted on 48 counts of abuse against children at Haut de la Garenne during the 1970s and 1980s.
Many people dismiss Syvret as a wild-eyed lunatic conspiracy theorist. They are wrong. The evidence is mounting up that there are some very dirty corrupt practices in Jersey – and that’s before anyone mentions the finance industry.
Jersey has its first political prisoner since 1945. Of course Syvret loves the limelight.Syvret is happy as he can play the Martyr. The Establishment is exceedingly happy, as they are vindictive.
Perhaps the local “Politicals” can all club together and buy some of those striped concentration camp pyjamas. HM Prison La Moye can now erect a new sign over the front gate: “Blogging is a Crime”.
As I understand it, the original data protection charge related to a posting on (then) Senator Syvret’s blog. This concerned a male nurse in Jersey whose care had been associated with an unusually high number of patient deaths. The police had investigated but concluded there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. Senator Syvret published the man’s name and stated that he was a serial killer who had got away with it. Irrespective of the public interest aspect of this posting, it is a cornerstone of our justice system that people are innocent until proved guilty. Further, Senator Syvret’s comments could easily have seen the man lynched. (If I have remembered any details incorrectly, hopefully one of your Jersey-based correspondents will be able to correct me.)
The motoring charge, which related to Senator Syvret having failed to notify a change of address, may well have been politically motivated. This followed a raid on Senator Syvret’s home, during which time he was held incommunicado in a police station and his home ransacked. Many people, including myself, felt this a disproportionate action by the police, but even here Senator Syvret’s own conduct was a contributory factor.
When one of Jersey Police’s senior officers had sent Senator Syvret a polite email requesting him to arrange an appointment to discuss the data protection allegations, the Senator offered a single line response: “You’ll never take me alive, copper!”. Given the lax state of gun control in Jersey (which has quite different licensing laws to the UK or indeed the Isle of Man) and Senator Syvret’s reputation for unpredictable behaviour, I daresay this attempt at humour was not met with a belly laugh, and the police decided to take no chances.
Of course, Senator Syvret’s imprisonment relates to neither of the above offences, but his decision to leave Jersey for six months instead of attending his scheduled court appearances. In fact, he missed three court appearances, triggering three separate charges of contempt, for which a total of ten weeks’ imprisonment does not appear disproportionate. Senator Syvret’s six-month absence from the island also triggered a by-election for his States seat, which he lost. I presume his attention was to create a media furore, which he did, but at huge cost to himself. In the circumstances, I believe your comments about the potential impact of imprisonment on his mental health may be very pertinent.
@James
That’s what many people tell me
@Blackballed
I suspect you’re right about their attitude to bloggers
@Iliam Dhone
Look, let’s agree Stuart can / has brought much of this on himself and acted on occasion quite foolishly – in the process letting a lot of people down
But he also suffered massive provocation isolation, abuse and outright hostility in the goldfish bowl of Jersey
If that caused him to crack the only question is “how come it took so long”
I suggest it was deliberate – and that’s why I have a great deal of sympathy for Stuart – whatever he’s done
The guy’s given his all for the ordinary people of Jersey
And I respect him for that – and remember, I have grounds for complaint against him – and won’t hold it as a grudge
I find this obsession with a man who has no respect of the law when the rest of us have to obey the courts actually disturbing and John Hemming MP has no say on Jersey affairs whatsoever. Richard are you serious about what you do or just a part of an outside rumour mongering group who will grab any bit of gossip to belittle Jersey?
@Pete
of course I am serious.
And I have made it quite clear that not everything Stuart Syvret has done has been wise or even, on occasion, well-intentioned
But I also suspect that he has been under enormous pressure, pressure deliberately imposed upon him by the establishment in jersey to make him crack
At some point I think he may have done
I call that an abuse of power by the establishment in jersey
if you aren’t interested in the abuse of power, I am
And respectfully, I think that makes me the serious one