Rough justice in Morocco
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Reporting the sorry plight of truck driver Steven Bryant, jailed for nine years in Morocco for carrying cannabis in a load of frozen squid, you say: '11 he question of whether he was knowingly carrying the drugs was not even mentioned at the trial" since possession oi drugs is "an absolute offence" in Morocco.
Are there any mandatory warnings to that effect in brochures featuring Morocco as a tourist destination? It was very smug of the Foreign Office to say that it is "unable to spring people from prison in foreign countries". The person who said it undoubtedly enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
What a long way Malcolm Rif kind
seems to have come from the words of his great predecessor, Lord Palmerston, who told the House of Commons: "As the Roman in days of old held himself free from indignity when he could say 'Civis Romanus sum', so also a British subject, in whatever land he may be, shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England will protect him against injustice and wrong." Let's hear it now From Steven's MP. Meanwhile, please keep up the pressure for justice to be seen to be done and let us all steer clear of Morocco as a holiday destination until something positive happens in his case.
John Probert, Wyvem Cargo.