Action Alert! Freedom for Hassan Khan
15 years ago Hassan Khan (Prisoner Number: A1187AK) was convicted of robbery and got a “two strikes” sentence – a mandatory life sentence for people convicted of a second serious sexual or violent offense. This sentence carried a 4 year 166 days minimum tariff but he has been inside for 15 years.
He grew up in care in Birmingham and has a Pashtun Father and a Welsh Mother. He had a very troubled childhood with his problems with the law starting at 8 years old. He sued West Midlands Police, having been framed by them and was awarded £23,000 damages. Not long after winning this case he was set up a second time by a corrupt police officer who planted evidence on a crime scene setting him up for a robbery he didn’t commit.
A close relative of Hassan’s stated that:
“The system has never forgiven Hassan for exposing, through a landmark case, a corrupt West Midlands Serious Crime Squad as liars, falsifying statements and tampering with vital evidence. This eventually led to many innocent people, like the Birmingham 6 for example to be released. The ‘brotherhood’ within the judicial, legal and police system has never forgiven him for that.”
Hassan with two of his sons
Hassan has spent 15 years behind bars this November. He faces an impossible situation – his security file in his parole dossier, that will be used to make the decision to release him or not, is full of racist lies alleging he is connected to Muslim gangs, Isis, and dealing drugs and phones. These lies are complete nonsense and the prison won’t even tell Hassan where this “intelligence” came from. Hassan has no way of challenging their racialised accusations against him.
He has 4 grown up sons in north Wales and desperately wants to be part of their lives. His mental health has deteriorated to the point he wants to give up hope but he has kept his resolve and has undertaken several lengthy hunger strikes to protest about his situation. Hassan needs to be released immediately to a hostel or his friend’s house in North Wales so that this 63 year old man can try and salvage his relationship with the children he has missed growing up due to the corruption of the racist West Midlands Police. This is our campaign goal and we are asking people to contact HMP Gartree where he is imprisoned.
These are the Guardian articles outlining the way he was set up – twice.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/jun/01/hassan-khan-miscarriage-police-set-up
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/nov/04/sunglasses-armed-robbery-missing
Why Hassan needs us to take action:
Hassan has a parole hearing coming up on the 19th of October. Despite him doing his best to comply with the prison system his security file that the parole board will read is full of racialised lies about him because of his ethnic background and because he is a practicing Muslim. He cannot progress through his sentence when coming up against the lies like this – especially in the current political climate. Hassan belongs with his family in north Wales. He wants to go and live with his friend who is in poor health and support him.
Life in prison is taking its toll on Hassan – he has written an autobiography called “A Wasted life.” which the IWW’s Incarcerated Workers Organising Committee are hoping to publish as a booklet.
Hassan needs us to act NOW! His parole is imminent (on the 19th of October) and this will be the only chance to set him free in the next 2 years. He has been considering that if he does not get parole he will undertake a hunger strike until death.
What you can do:
You can only write by letter – and all letters need to be received by the 17th of October, please post your letters to arrive by this date.
Write to the Governor of HMP Gartree voicing your concerns about his situation and that he should be released. You can find a template below but we recommend you put this into your own words if possible as it will have much more of an impact. Please let the Incarcerated Workers Organising Committee know if you’ve written to them so we know people are responding and fighting for Hassan.
Address: HMP Gartree
Gallow Field Road,
Market Harborough,
Leicestershire,
LE16 7RP
Dear Govenor Ali Barker
I am writing to express my deep concern about prisoner Hassan Khan who is currently in HMP Gartree. He is a “2 strikes” prisoner over a decade over tariff, with a parole hearing coming up on the 19th of October.
It has emerged that his security file is littered with Islamophobic and racist lies. It is a travesty that someone like Mr Khan who is in prison with his case now at appeal centering on allegations of police corruption, and that now, after 15 years in prison – over 10 years over his original tariff is being obstructed in the progression of his sentence by these baseless accusations. This is having serious consequences for Hassan’s friends, family and Mr Khan himself. These false statements are likely to be obstructing Hassan’s progression in his sentence.
He is serving an indeterminate sentence and denying him a fair hearing is literally putting his life in danger, him having peacefully protested in the past with several hunger strikes at the injustice of his situation, not to mention this having a knock on effect on his progression.
I ask with urgency for you to investigate why Hassan’s security file is full of these utter lies and for the officer(s) alleging these things against him to be investigated for a form of institutional racial abuse.
Hassan has several friends and members of his family supportive of him coming home. I look forward to your written response confirming that you will take action to put Mr Khan on the right path to a life outside of prison.
Yours sincerely,
xxxxxxx
