By Paul Fromm
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TORONTO, Canada ~ The decade-long saga of state persecution of
inveterate Canadian letter-writer Brad Love reached a new low November 28 when he was criminally
charged for writing a letter to his own lawyer.
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While many of his fellow prisoners were passing the time watching TV or semi-comatose on the medications freely ladled out by the authorities, Love
prefers to read and write. But America’s neighbour
to the north can’t have that. It’s better to be
a compliant zombie than a dissident thinker in politically-correct Canada.
Love’s incoming mail was held up for more than
a month, and he has been informed he is not
allowed to write to anyone.
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Years after his conviction in 2002 under Canada’s notorious “hate
law” for writing non-threatening letters to public
officials criticizing Canada’s immigration mess, Love is still mired in the
toils of repression.
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In March 2009, Love was arrested by eight armed detectives at a Toronto free speech meeting for sending some information packages to four Toronto Jewish
groups. In July 2012, after 10 court appearances, requiring travel from Alberta, time off work and loss of wages, Love was sentenced to a further 18
months in prison, plus a further three-year gag
order from writing letters to the media or politicians.
He has called his ordeal “an abuse by process.”
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He has applied for bail, pending an appeal. In July 2013, his bail was arbitrarily revoked, so for the past five months he has languished in jail, again for
nothing more than the non-violent expression of
his populist, no-nonsense, working-guy views.
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Love had been employed in a lucrative job in Alberta’s tar sands in Fort McMurray. The arbitrary imprisonment punished him for his views, denied him an
income and, ironically, denied the state a hefty
hunk of his pay in taxes.
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On November 28, Love reported that police arrived at the prison in Lindsay, Ontario. He was charged with violating his bail, a condition forbidding him to write to,
text or email any person.
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Yes, this is a condition for his “freedom” pending his trial in Alberta, Canada ~ not North Korea.
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This was not correct, though. His conditions had been amended in July so that he could write to anyone
except the parties to whom he was charged with
sending “scurrilous” political material. But that
didn’t stop Canadian authorities from going after
him anyway.
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“The cops are just bullies,” Love said. “They arrest the free-speech guy in jail for writing to his own lawyer about free speech. It’s crazy. I told them to
check the paperwork. I’m allowed to write to
my own lawyer, Peter Lindsay, and, indeed, anyone other than certain politicians and media people in Fort
McMurray.”
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Love reported that a fellow inmate who had sent out some letters for Love was warned: “You could be getting out of here soon. You’d better have nothing to
do with Brad.”
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Anyone interested in corresponding with Love must call Kevin Nesbit, the deputy superintendent of operations at the prison, and give your name, address
and verbal consent for Love to send you letters. The phone number is (705) 328-6000.
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You can write to political prisoner Brad Love, one of our “men
behind the wire” at Brad Love [557137416], C.E.C.C.,
541 Highway 36, Box 4500, Lindsay, Ontario, K9V 4S6, Canada.
Sheesh!! and we used to think the old soviet Union was a hellhole on Earth.
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