Not Much of a Happy New Year, Political Prisoner Brad Loves Heads Back to Court, January 2 on Bogus Breach Charge

Lindsay, Ontario, January 1, 2014. Not much of a Happy New Year for Canadian political prisoner Brad Love who heads back to Court tomorrow. Mr. Love will be appearing in Ontario Provincial Court on what he says is “a phony charge.”

On November 28, he was charged by the Ontario Provincial Police with “breach of undertaking” (breach of bail conditions) for having written a letter to his own lawyer, Toronto attorney Peter Lindsay. The charge stemmed from bail conditions imposed in May, 2013 after Brad was charged with “harassment” for sending non-threatening letters or making phone calls to several Fort Mcmurray politicians and media personalities.

His initial bail conditions forbad him to write, e-mail or text “any person” — yes, that was imposed by a Canadian, not a North Korean court. Using material prepared by CAFE, Mr. Love returned to court in Fort Mcmurray on July 11. A judge, agreeing these conditions were excessive, substantially amended the bail conditions so that Mr. Love was only forbidden to contact the persons who were part of the complaint.

Photo: http://downwithjugears.blogspot.com/2005/04/brad-love-case.html

Appearing in provincial court in Lindsay, December 19, Mr. Love, argued that the charges were bogus; that he was entirely permitted to write to his lawyer or any other peson, except those mentioned in the complaint. He had a copy of the Alberta judge’s July 11 order.”I got the paperwork from Fort McMurray,” he explained.

However, the Crown who had weeks to prepare this case,rejected Mr. Love’s copy and insisted on obtaining their own transcripts — so another three weeks in jail for Mr. Love. [Mr. Love is currently in prison appealing an 18-month sentence for breach of probation stemming from his 2003 conviction under Canada’s notorious “hate law” — Sec. 319 of the Criminal Code. The alleged breach was sending information packages to four Jewish groups in 2009 in connection with the End Israeli Apartheid campaign.

Mr. Love commented: “What did the Crown think: that I’d forged the Alberta Court order in my cell?”

Mr. Love, who will be representing himself, will move for the dismissal of these charges, the latest in a 12-year campaign of state harassment to silence this outspoken populist dissident and inveterate letter writer — over 10,000 letters over a 20 year period.