There will be a benefit show on Thurs. Dec. 2nd at Sigma nightclub in Swansea, “Jamming for Justice for Jimmy Mubenga and Ian Tomlinson”, 9 pm – 3 am, £3 or more if you can afford it – all proceeds to be split 50/50 between Swansea Asylum Justice and the Ian Tomlinson Family Campaign.

Jimmy Mubenga was a refugee from Angola who had been living legally in the UK for 16 years until he spent a short time in prison as a result of getting involved in a fight in a bar (something that could happen to anyone), whereupon his right to remain was revoked and he was forcibly placed on British Airways flight 77 to Angola on Oct. 12, 2010, leaving his wife and children (all born in the U.K.) While at the runway at Heathrow Airport, he was being heavily restrained by security personnel working for G4S on behalf of the UK Border Agency. According to the U.K. Border Agency’s initial statements, he “took ill” and died. But according to every witness on the plane who has come forward, it seems more likely that he died from postional asphixia as a result of being restrained. He was heard to repeatedly say “Please get off me, I can’t breathe”, and “help, they are trying to kill me” before he died. Three G4S personnel were arrested afterwards and bailed pending trial. But will justice be done? See http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/jimmy-mubenga

Ian Tomlinson was a newspaper vendor who was on his way back home from work on April 1, 2009, in Central London, when he happened to pass by the vicinity of a demonstration taking place against the G20 summit. He didn’t even know the demonstration was going on. Riot police were in the process of clearing the area when one of them struck him from behind with a baton – completely unprovoked – and threw him to the ground. The riot officer involved had his face covered with a mask and his ID number concealed. The incident was caught on videotape by a passerby. Ian Tomlinson collapsed and died shortly afterwards. The police initially claimed he had suffered a heart attack and the first pathologist to examine him, Freddy Patel, confirmed this – but this pathologist had been involved in a number of controversial cases in the past where his expertise was called into question, and has since been barred from performing his duties because of incompetence. Two other highly reputable pathologists concluded that Ian Tomlinson died, not from a heart attack, but from internal bleeding consistent with blunt force trauma (such as being struck by a police baton). Nonetheless, the policeman who struck him from behind has not been charged with anything – not even simple assault. Ian Tomlinson’s family are trying to raise money for an investigation and private prosecution of their own. See http://www.iantomlinsonfamilycampaign.org.uk/

We’ll have live performances from Tula Tula (a funky melange of genres), CASA drumming group (African drumming), Alaji Karoma (poetry), Shrunken Heads (hip hop), SA2 Crew (hip hop), and more to be announced, plus a varied selection of Swansea’s heaviest d.j.’s playing reggae, dancehall, hip hop, african music, jungle and more. We’ll do another one springtime next year if you can’t make this one – and you can always donate directly to the causes if you can’t make the show. For details on how to donate to Swansea Asylum Justice, contact Jeni on jeninswan@hotmail.com For enquiries about the show, contact Gareth at gmandasks@hotmail.com