Carmen Callil on literature, justice, and the Old Bailey, at 5x15

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Carmen Callil on literature, justice, and the Old Bailey, at 5x15

22 Feb 2010

Speakers: Carmen Callil

Carmen Callil retells how she was asked to appear in court by her friend, the barrister Helena Kennedy, to testify on behalf of Bouchra El-Hor, a Dutch-born British Muslim accused of inciting her husband to Jihad. Despite her intial reluctance to appear in court, Callil felt she didn't have a choice once she heard more about Bouchra and her tragic life – how she was abused and confined to her house by her husband.

Bouchra and her husband Yassin Nassari had been arrested and charged under the 2000 Terrorism Act after customs at Luton airport found evidence of Islamic fundamentalist activities on Yassin's laptop and allegedly incriminating correspondence on Bouchra's person. Callil argued in court that the correspondence, which took the form of letters written to Allah, merely showed that Bouchra was one in a long line of women who had turned to religion in the face of social isolation and abuse. Whilst Bouchra was eventually released, Callil refuses to take any credit.