Political Prisoner Brad Love to Be Freed, June 15 — Still Not Allowed to Send Mail From Prison
LINDSAY, Ontario. Political prisoner Brad Love, who has drawn repeated sentences for writing letters to MPs, police chiefs, the media and Jewish groups — none of them threatening, all of them opinionated — will be freed on parole, June 15. He will have spent 11 years in and out of prison, mostly for parole violations (writing more letters). At one point his parole conditions had been expanded by now retired Ontario Judge Hogg so that he was not allowed to write to “any person.” That was in Canada with its hollow Charter of “Rights”, not North Korea.
Still the persecution of this opinionated populist working guy and letter writer — 10,000 in over 20 years — contnues in prison.Despite appeals to the Ombudsman, the prison authorities continue to confiscate Mr. Love’s outgoing mail. They tell him it will be in his property when he is released. The Kawartha Lakes Police, who seem to instruct the prison authorities, seem incapable of reading or following court documents. They still maintain that he is under a bail condition, going back to charges last May in Fort McMurray where he was initially banned from “communicating by mail, e-mail or text to any person.” Using material prepared by CAFE, Mr. Love went back to court in July and had these Stalinist conditions amended so that he was only banned from communicating with several media persons and politicians who were the instigators of a “harassment” charge.
In another form of harassment, the prison authorities go through his incoming mail with a fine tooth comb. He was recently advised that they were detaining an envelope of newspaper clippings from supporters in Winnipeg. The reason — “too much paper”!
Even worse, Mr. Love reports, “My brother visited me in March and was not let in. He sent me $200 by mail and it was returned to him.
Mr. Love’s own lawyer told him “your case receives more police and judicial scrutiny than bank robbery cases.” But, then, that’s not surprising. Political prisoners are always treated more harshly. They are seen as a real threat. Bank robbers just steal money, drug pushers just sell drugs and the State doesn’t get its cut, but people with political ideas might actually change people’s opinions and lead to real change.
On June 15, Mr. Love will walk free but he will not really be free. The judicial Beast will continue to gag him. On July 12, 2012, Judge Kelly Write imposed the following Stalinist gag order: “”Mr. Love is to refrain from any political speech or commentary to any media outlet, political, cultural or religious group or organization, or police organization, except with the express written permission of a political or religious organization that welcomes him as a member or associate and with the permission of his probation officer.”
Free Speech Meeting in Toronto, 2009.
Free Speech Meeting in Toronto, 2009.