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Belgium: London woman freed from jail

01 May 1999

A black south London woman, Bridget Seisay, walked free from a Belgian prison in June, after being acquitted on human trafficking charges by an appeal court. By the time her sentence, described as one of the "worst miscarriages of justice I have seen," by Stephen Jakobi the director of Fair Trials Abroad, was overturned Bridget had endured eight months in prison. Speaking of her experience Bridget, a married mother with a three-year old son, said "It was a horrifying experience and nothing can undo the damage that has been done." Eight months ago, Mrs Seisay took a weekend break to Germany, and visited her husband's cousin, the Sierra Leonese ambassador. At his home, she met Martha Conteh and the two women decided to travel to Europe together. When they arrived in Brussels they were both arrested as they tried to board the Eurostar to London. Martha claimed, and was subsequently granted, asylum. She had travelled on false documents, (which should not prejudice an asylum claim), but is adamant that Mrs Seisay knew nothing about this. Yet the Belgian authorities detained Mrs Seisay and charged her with smuggling Martha into Belgium on false documents. Stephen Jakobi, of the Fair Trials Abroad group is in no doubt that this is an example of institutional racism in the Belgian justice system: "It is difficult to believe that a white woman supported by a white ambassador would not have been released very quickly" he observed. Big Issue 7.6.99; South London Press 11.6.99; Guardian 23.6.99; Morning Star 24.6.99