The Edmonton 3

On January 28th, 1997, Michael Menson a black musician from Ghana, was found in Silver Street, Edmonton, NorthLondon suffering from severe burns. He subsequently died from his injuries a fortnight later in hospital.

Mario Pereira, Harry Constantinou and Ozgay Cevat were convicted of this murder in December 1999. None of them were at the scene of the incident and no evidence was found to prove that any of them were. Nor was there any forensic evidence found to associate them with the fire. This case was billed as a racially motivated one from start to finish.

IT IS CLEARLY A MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE

A brief resume of the Menson case

Michael Menson was a diagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenic. On the night of January 2th, 1999, he left home late at night, after earlier requests from medical staff to get his depot injection and medicines to stabilise his mental state. By this time he was quite disorientated, got on the wrong bus and ultimately got off somewhere in the Edmonton area.

It appears that four white youths were also travelling on the same bus as Mr. Menson. Two of the youths got off at the same time as Mr. Menson, while the other two alighted some time later.

This fact is significant because it is alleged that Mr. Menson is said to have told his brothers that four white youths set him on fire.

A witness saw Mr. Menson at a bus stop in Edmonton and it appeared to him that he (Menson) was disorientated. Later, with nobody around, a bus driver saw him at a short distance away walking in a dazed manner, with the back of his jacket slightly ablaze. He was not seeking help or doing anything about the fire. The bus driver drove on as he felt that Mr. Menson did not show any sign of struggle to put the fire out nor did he request for any assistance, therefore the driver decided that the situation was not serious. However, later on passers-by in cars noticed that Mr. Menson was naked and telephoned for help.

Mr. Menson was taken to hospital and was found to have third degree burns. He did not disclose to police that he had been assaulted. He died a fortnight later.

There were extensive police investigations conducted by DCI Scott and OS White. They interviewed youths in the area and came up with no evidence against anyone. They were of the opinion that Mr. Menson may have set himself on fire.

Eventually after campaigning by the Menson family for more than a year attracting huge media coverage, a second inquest was held by the Coroner. The hearing was full of dramas but the jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

Following the hearing, the original investigating officers were suspended and the newly created Racial Task Force put in place. This was under the command of DAG Greaves. Their investigating tactics left a lot to be desired. They targeted Mario, Harry Constantinou and Ozgay Cevat from the outset and within a few months all three were arrested and charged with murder.

At the trial, it was made known that Mr. Menson had been suffering from severe clinical depression. He had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and was known to be a suicide risk. Furthermore, he did not disclose to police that he had been assaulted.

Harry Constantinou was a Paranoid Schizophrenic living in the area. He was on regular medication because of a mental disorder, and is prone to making outrageous statements. In one of his statements, he declared that he was responsible for the death of Princess Diana!

Constantinou knew Mario and Cevat as they all lived in the same area. In one of his wild outbursts, he stated that both Mario and Cevat had set Menson alight. The police, who had bugged Harry's flat, used his statement as evidence. Constantinou, in a surprise move, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice but the damning fact remains that his statement was not subject to cross­examination.

The only other evidence produced were statements taken from two youths who also lived in the area who stated that Mario allegedly confessed to them about having committed the crtme. This had not been recorded until two years later. They initially refused to make statements but eventually agreed under pressure from the police. Both youths have previous convictions.

Evidently, during the trial these two youths were asked not to communicate with each other, since they were under oath, but they actually went together to a pub for approximately 3 hours. This was only discovered after they were stopped by police for drink driving, after which one of them called his police minder at home to arrange for a police escort home for himself. This was the level of evidence produced in Mario's convictions.

Apart from a minor traffic offence, Mario had never been in trouble with the police before. He does not drink nor smoke. He has a lot of friends, many of whom come from different races and backgrounds. The police stressed at the trial that this was a racially motivated attack and this simply is not the truth.

Mario has steadfastly denied anything to do with the Michael Menson case. He cannot provide an alibi for the night in question more than 2 years after the incident.

Ozgay Cevat was convicted for this crime by a court in Turkish controlled Cyprus and is serving life in prison there.

Efforts are being made to start up a campaign for the release of all three men and further information will be available soon.

supported by London Against Injustice