The Heretical Two - Simon Sheppard and Steve Whittle were convicted at Leeds Crown court in 2008 for publishing 'racial material on an American website and 'did a runner' to the USA last July. They surrendered to the US authorities in order to publicise the loss of free speech in the UK. .They were kept in prison for 11 months, not allowed to smoke or make phone calls and had to wear orange overalls. They were not given legal aid because asylum is a civil matter which begs the question why were they treated as criminals and kept in prison - a classic catch 22.
They lost their Claim for political asylum in the USA on the 5th April 2009 when judge Peters, who had previously given sanctuary to an IRA terrrorist, dismissed the case. They had 30 days to appeal against the decision, but Simon subsequently contacted the authorities to say that they would not appeal. Simon Sheppard and Steve Whittle were deported from Santa Ana Jail via LAX on June 16 and arrived in London June 17, where they were arrested, taken briefly to Leeds court, and then to prison. Please write to them at HMP Leeds, 2 Gloucester Terrace, Stanningley Road, Leeds, LS12 2TJ, UK - Simon's prison number is A8042AA. They will appear again in Leeds Crown Court Friday July 10 for sentencing - the three week delay is to prepare pre-sentencing reports. All as a result of writing on a web site in Torrance, California words protected by the First Amendment!
They lost their Claim for political asylum in the USA on the 5th April 2009 when judge Peters, who had previously given sanctuary to an IRA terrrorist, dismissed the case. They had 30 days to appeal against the decision, but Simon subsequently contacted the authorities to say that they would not appeal. Simon Sheppard and Steve Whittle were deported from Santa Ana Jail via LAX on June 16 and arrived in London June 17, where they were arrested, taken briefly to Leeds court, and then to prison. Please write to them at HMP Leeds, 2 Gloucester Terrace, Stanningley Road, Leeds, LS12 2TJ, UK - Simon's prison number is A8042AA. They will appear again in Leeds Crown Court Friday July 10 for sentencing - the three week delay is to prepare pre-sentencing reports. All as a result of writing on a web site in Torrance, California words protected by the First Amendment!
