Paddy Hill – Craigavon 2 statement read at Parliament

Yesterday (19 November) a meeting was held at the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, hosted by Chris Williamson MP.   The meeting was organised to raise awareness, among Parliamentarians and other interested parties, of the cases of the Craigavon 2 and Tony Taylor.  Siobhan McConville, wife of Brendan McConville of the Craigavon 2, read to the meeting the following message of support from Paddy Hill of the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation/Birmingham 6:

I, along with the others known as the Birmingham Six, the Guilford Four, Maguire Seven, amongst many, many more who are too numerous to mention, managed to gain our release from jail, but we have never been given truth and justice.  Our suffering lasted longer than the prison sentences we endured.  We have lived lives full of sorrow, and struggle against the monolith of a justice system that does not care.  Sadly, it would seem the lessons that should have been learned have not been learned.

On leaving prison I promised to fight for those who were left behind, those who were also innocent – in the hope that no one would ever have to face the struggle faced by myself and all the others.  I have continued since my release through the organisation I set up, MOJO, the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation, to fight for those still in prison, and for those damaged by wrongful imprisonment. In my opinion nothing has changed; in fact, I think things are now worse than they ever were.

Before his untimely death the last case  Gerry  Conlon and I campaigned on together was the case of the Craigavon 2.  Two more innocent Irish men left to languish in jail for a crime they did not commit.  We believed, and I still believe, Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton have suffered the same fate as us.  Political prisoners who have been abandoned to their fate by a  society indifferent to that fate.  Out of sight of mind.  We urge all those of good conscience to look at the case.  

They need your voice to be their voice. They need you to speak for them.  They need you to raise their case in every place you can. We need you to put their case into the spotlight. Injustice can only win if we do nothing.

MOJO will stand by the Craigavon 2 until those in power listen.  Until they listen we should not rest. All we have is one another.  Please show solidarity with Brendan McConville and John Paul Wooten. If not you then who?