Imprisoned school teacher Maura Harrington who was invited to speak at an event in London arranged by a coalition of human rights organisations, was unable to do so because she was still detained in Mountjoy Prison. The event, which took place on Monday, was organised by the remember saro-wiwa coalition to highlight the Wiwa vs Shell trial.
Wiwa vs Shell is a landmark human rights case that goes to trial on May 27 in New York, filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights and Earth Rights International. Shell will be taken to court for complicity in a catalogue of human rights abuses in Nigeria, including the execution of activist and writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists in November 1995.
Last Monday an evening of discussion and film screenings took place at the Amnesty International Centre for Human Rights in London to draw attention to the trial, and keep people informed of efforts to bring Shell to account for their human rights abuses.
Terence Conway, spokesperson for Shell to Sea, said: “It is ironic that Maura Harrington could not attend this event, planned to shed light on Shell's human rights abuses and the way governments can get caught up in the company's activities, since she was herself in detention arising from a protest against Shell. Maura's continued detention shows that Shell still have a policy of using the legal system to attempt to criminalise those who oppose them.”
