ABC trial: unions odge protest
Socialist Press1978 1978-10-07Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 5 →
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Leaders of journalists unions in 11 countries, including the USA, France and West Germany have added their voice to the campaign by the National Union of Journalists to force the Labour government to drop the Official Secrets Act charges against Aubrey, Berry and Campbell.
The case, the original hearing of which was broken up in disarray when it became known that the jury foreman was an ex-SAS soldier, reopens this Tuesday, October 3 at the Old Bailey.
Though one of the most overtly ridiculous charges against Duncan Campbell has been dropped, all three still face the possibility of up to 14 years jail for the 'crime' of having had a conversation together early in 1977.
Berry a former Theoretical Journal of the Workers Socialist League who, as a corporal, had been attached to the secret Signals Intelligence unit known as SIGINT.
Aubrey and Campbell, then working for Time Out magazine met him on his request to discuss matters arising from the deportation of ex-CIA agent Philip Agee.
The content of their discussion has never been disclosed.
The NUJ together with the ABC Defence Campaign have called for what they describe as a 'fun' picket outside the court on Tuesday.
But urgent and serious action is needed if these men are not to face jail sentences at the hands of a Labour government.
A labour movement delegate conference must be convened as quickly as possible to further this fight.
And Labour Party branches must take up the issue, fighting for the dropping of the charges, the removal of reactionary Home Secretary Merlyn Rees and the repeal of the Official Secrets Act.
Merlyn Rees
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PHOTO: PHOTO: Andrew Wiard, Report