A VERY SAD CASE

The police in Brazil often shoot black street kids out of hand on the generally correct assumption that they support themselves by criminal activity so shooting them reduces crime. So a Westerner who meddled in the system was always asking for trouble from those in power. They simply got him out of the way and intend to keep him there

The family of an orphanage founder imprisoned in Brazil have vowed to continue their campaign to free him after his appeal to return to Britain – supported by foreign minister Jack Straw – was rejected. Rachel Wareing spoke to Craig Alden's family and supporters.

Craig Alden was just a teenager when he saw a homeless child shot in the street in front of him in Brazil. The experience prompted him to set up a refuge for street children. He returned home to Warboys, near Huntingdon, and began raising money to set up the Abrigo Warboys in a small town near the capital, Brasilia. After three years he gave up his job at Anglian Water and moved to Brazil permanently, sleeping in a tent and running the orphanage on a shoestring. The refuge provided food, shelter, training and care for more than 30 children.

Three years ago the dream turned sour. Following a dispute with the town's authorities, Craig was accused of abusing and neglecting five children at the refuge and sentenced to 48 years in jail. He had no defence at his trial because his lawyer missed the statutory deadline for submitting evidence, and the judge ignored defence witness statements and medical evidence. Craig, now 36, also had no interpreter.

His parents Maureen and Brian, from Warboys, believe he was the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice. Mr Alden's family has the backing of the British Government and campaign group Fair Trials Abroad. Supporters include staff and volunteers from Britain who worked at the orphanage.

After numerous appeals, which resulted in a reduction in the sentence to 11 years, the Foreign Office commissioned a legal report by an eminent Queen's Counsel, Lord Renton. Convinced of the injustice of the case, he travelled to Brazil at his own expense to investigate further. It prompted Jack Straw to ask the Brazilian government for a presidential expulsion. It was rejected.

The Aldens and their supporters are determined to fight on. Mrs Alden said: "If Craig comes back here, he has no way of clearing his name, which he has always maintained he wants to do. "However, the Brazilian system seems unable to rectify the mistakes it has made, so we decided the best thing for his safety and his health is to get him home."

The orphanage her son worked so hard to build was run into the ground after Craig's arrest. Mrs Alden said some of the older children visit her son in prison, including some of the children who were allegedly victims of the abuse. Visits and phone calls are difficult, she said, because they depend on the whim of the guard on duty. She said: "It's a prison like no other. It's a very wild west town, out in the sticks. "The conditions are not good, but he's luckier than the majority and has enjoyed some privileges – thanks to the support he's had from the diplomatic community. "The problem is that many of his supporters in Brazil are diplomats, who are only posted there for a few years. His loyal band of supporters is therefore dwindling a bit, not because they no longer believe him, but because the people he knows out there are moving away."

One supporter, Pastor Simon Trundle of the New Life Church in Wellingborough, has visited Craig in prison on numerous occasions. He said: "I quickly realised the facts were dismally slim, and the case against him disintegrated on close inspection."

He describes the conditions Craig is living in as "appalling" with daytime temperatures topping 40C and very cold nights. There is just one small window in the cell, beside an open drain infested with mosquitoes and cockroaches. Mr Trundle added: "When we first visited him, there was excrement and blood on the walls, because it was previously used as a holding cell. "He was sleeping on the floor and we had to buy him a bed. "He has to connect two bare wires to turn the light on at night.

"Other prisoners had threatened him because the guards told them he had abused children. "He has been deeply, deeply depressed and, at his lowest, has talked of finishing it all, but we encourage him to be positive and he rallies round again. "I don't think many people could have coped with three years of what he has been through." Craig's supporters are continuing their campaign for his release, and are asking the Brazilians to respond to the human rights and legal issues raised by the British Government. They are asking people to sign their online petition at www.freecraigalden.com and to send Craig a message of support through the website.

Report here


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