Renee Boje Granted Bail!!!
Renee Boje with Pot-TV
- Running Time: 28 min
- Date Entered: 17 Jun 2005
- Viewer Rating: 9.23 (17 votes)
- Number of Views: 6571
Description
From danieltv.com . After having her refugee claim rejected by Canadian (in)Justice Minister Irwin 'Goebel' Cotler, we follow Renee Boje and family from her arrival at the Supreme Court in Vancouver to surrender for arrest, and with relief we find her granted bail for the Review of the Judgment until another return for surrender on Sept. 30th.
For an Adobe Acrobat version of Irwin 'Goebel' Cotler's totally uncompassionate decision against Renee Boje and her Canadian family go to www.americanmarijuana.org/boje
Write Irwin Cotler and tell him to let Renee Boje stay!
The Honourable Irwin Cotler, P.C., M.P. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada 284 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8
Email: Cotler.I@parl.gc.ca
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Check out www.reneeboje.com
From Ivor Bennett, Renee's Father In-Law
To the many friends of Renee Boje….
As father-in-law to Renee, and loving grandfather to her small son, Shiva, I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to those who turned out in support of her bail hearing today and to those, who for one reason or another, could not be there. Without your on-going support and concern during these difficult times, I seriously doubt that our little family could survive this terrible ordeal.
Today’s decision by a caring and compassionate judge to extend bail until September 30th provides a temporary reprieve – nothing more. The thought that she might one day be returned to the United States to face a minimum sentence of ten years to life in prison for a relatively minor offence, from a Canadian perspective, is too awful to contemplate.
Why the Minister of Justice, the Honorable Irwin Cotler, who by all accounts is a fair minded man, should choose to ignore the evidence of cruel and inhumane treatment of women prisoners in the United States, as reported by Amnesty International, the U.N. and the Human Rights Watch is, to say the least, extraordinary. By asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and comment on Renee’s affidavit, in which she describes the horrific treatment she received while spending two days in a California prison, he, unwittingly, has put her in even greater danger. Little wonder that she is terrified at the thought of being sent back. Did the Minister seriously believe the American Justice Department would be willing to acknowledge the disgusting and unlawful behavior of their prison officials? Given the Department’s handling of the Abhu Gharib abomination and the appalling treatment of prisoners in Guantanimo Bay, one is hardly expected to place much credence to their response.
Due to extensive public awareness of Renee’s situation, worldwide, she has become a huge thorn in the side of the American Justice system. In addition to an indictment for possession of marijuana, albeit for medical purposes in a state where it had been made legal, she will be charged with being a fugitive from justice. Upon return to the United States she will inevitably receive the maximum sentence of life in prison as a deterrent to others. Once incarcerated, prison officials will be quick to retaliate against her for having written extensively about the brutality women suffer in U.S. prisons. Not only will she suffer terrible treatment at the hand of these officials but also from prisoners who want to curry favour with their guards by doing their dirty work for them. No one in their right mind would send someone back to the United States under these circumstances.
Why then did the Minister of Justice make such a terrible decision? For political reasons, without question. With an election pending, and the Tories claiming they can do a better job improving relations between Canada and the United States, our government is desperate to show they have things under control. In order to appease our American friends and downplay their concern, legitimate or otherwise, over such issues as legalization of marijuana, same sex marriage etc. my daughter-in-law has become an expendable pawn, a small price to pay, so to speak, for improving relations with the United States of America. If she suffers horribly, as she will, Canadian politicians will forever have her blood on their hands.
The cost of her legal defense against extradition is astronomical, despite thousands of hours donated free of charge by members of the legal profession and others. Our family will forever be indebted to them and those who have, and those who continue to contribute generously to her cause. While there are those reading this article who may be uncomfortable with her having broken U.S. federal law, as in fact I am, there is little doubt that the vendetta mounted by the U.S. Justice system and the punishment she is facing is far too severe for the crime she is supposed to have committed. I urge you to continue to speak up on her behalf.
My primary concern is, and always has been, the welfare of my small grandson, Shiva, and it is on his behalf that I thank all of you for the support you have shown his mother today and always.
Ivor Bennett
West Vancouver
