All out for Byron!
May 15, 2012
361 University Avenue
Toronto.

Hi everyone,

First of all, thank you so much for all the birthday wishes! I had a great day and I am going to tell you all about it in my next post.

Today, though, I want to talk about Byron Sonne. Byron was arrested on all kinds of serious (not to mention seriously trumped up) charges related to the 2010 G20 summit. for background information on the case, check out the excellent website http://www.freebyron.org.

Like myself, Byron was arrested before the summit got started — but while I was granted bail after one month, he spent close to a year in pre-trial custody. and while half of the “guilty” “co-conspirators” have already done their time and gotten out, Byron is still waiting for a verdict almost two years after his arrest.

Now it’s time.

At 10 a.m on May 15, the verdict with be read at the Ontario Superior Court, 361 University Avenue in Toronto. The courtroom will be posted on freebyron.org that morning. You can always find that out at the desk beside the main floor escalators.

So let’s pack the courtroom and show our support! For obvious and frustrating reasons, I’ll be there in spirit only 🙂

The cops and the crown have tried to tie Byron to the G20 conspiracy case, but I didn’t know him before. I don’t think any of us did. I went to a couple of his court dates, though, and saw for myself the ridiculous nature of the “evidence” and the desperately vindictive tone of the crown’s “case.” I also was able to see for myself what I had only read of before: the strength, dignity and sense of humour with which Byron has dealt, with the arrest, the detention, and the severe effects on his personal life. So while I didn’t know Byron Sonne before, I am very happy to know him now. He’s been quite the inspiration.

The state’s paranoid fabrication of conspiracies and sinister plots where none exists makes good sensationalist media and helps justify massive and expensive police operations. It’s pathetic, really — and anyway it backfires, because we keep meeting great people in their police stations and jails and courthouses. So thanks for that, state.

All my respect and solidarity to you, Byron. And the rest of you, all out to the courthouse!

Cheers,
mandy 🙂