Rico looked down at Karima in the corner. To him her spirit looked broken too. He went over and sat next to her, and for a while they both sat in silence until Rico spoke.
‘They’re watching us.’
‘I know,’ said Karima.
‘All we have to do is tell the truth, right?’ said Rico.
‘That’s right, brov. The truth. That should do the job.’
Chapter 25
Judgement Days
The next day, Rico had another meeting with his lawyer. Karima also had a visit from a lawyer, who had been recommended to her by a local law centre, but Karima and Rico were kept apart until they stood next to each other in court on Monday morning. The court was packed with members of Karima’s family, the press and Rico’s family, including Lola and Kim. Lola was sitting between her parents, the three of them holding hands.
It was a quick hearing. Rico and Karima confirmed their names, addresses and ages, and their lawyers entered their pleas. Karima pleaded not guilty to all the charges and Rico pleaded not guilty to handling explosives, and not guilty to nine charges of murder. But he did plead guilty to computer hacking. They were both remanded in custody until their appearance in the Crown Court.
Both were detained in the same high-security youth unit. Although they were never allowed to see each other, they were both subject to rule 43, a rule that kept suspected terrorists separated from other prisoners for their own protection. They saw newspaper stories about themselves where their capture was seen as a victory in the war on terror. Journalists were investigating the histories of their families, and they both felt helpless, unable to defend themselves or their relatives from the intrusion. Some newspapers portrayed them as evil, fanatical young people, and to a whole range of extreme groups they were heroes. Karima and Rico thought they were none of these things.
On the day of the Crown Court hearing, Jackson Jones was there to support Rico, but his firm had employed Michael Fieldsman, the country’s best-known human rights barrister, to represent him. Before they went into the courtroom, Michael Fieldsman had a meeting with Rico where he explained that he had spoken to his parents, and was dedicated to representing him because he had examined the case and believed that Rico had been exploited. He promised to tell Rico’s story as best he could. He also said that he felt this was so important that he would waive his fee.
Michael Fieldsman presented Rico’s case with so much passion and attention to detail that it sounded as if he was a witness to it all. He had done a survey of the area and was able to show exactly where the street cameras were. He argued that the reason Speech had restricted their movements when they met was because he was avoiding the street cameras. They were always in camera blind spots. He called Ana as a witness, and she told the court that she did have a birthday just after the date of the explosion, and that her dream was to start a dressmaking business. She had no idea who Speech was, but her birthday was on a couple of social networking sites. When Speech had asked Rico to build the website and then check for his speeding ticket, he was just testing Rico; he wanted to see how good his computer skills were. The car registration number he’d given didn’t even exist. Michael Fieldsman summed up his defence of Rico by telling the court that, like Michael Fieldsman himself, Rico was someone who wanted to see justice in the world. He was someone who wanted to do something about injustice. He urged the court to see that it was Rico’s idealism that had been exploited, allowing him to be tricked and manipulated, and that he had committed a crime, but he was not a terrorist or a mass murderer.
After all the evidence from both the prosecution and defence had been presented to the court, the jury gave their verdict. Karima was found not guilty of all charges, and released with immediate effect, and Rico was found not guilty of handling explosives, not guilty of nine counts of murder, but guilty of unlawful use of a computer, and unauthorised computer access. He was sentenced to twelve months in youth custody. When he heard the sentence Rico showed no emotion. He was relieved that the court realised that he really wasn’t a terrorist, and he accepted that twelve months was much better than a life sentence – but there was nothing to celebrate. He looked around and saw and heard members of his family breathing sighs of relief. His mother nodded her head just a little, his father wiped his forehead with his hand, and Lola gave a small smile. It was bittersweet. As Rico finished scanning the courtroom it hit home how they were all there because of him. He looked back to his family and as he thought about all the trouble he had caused them his eyes began to fill with tears, but just then two police officers grabbed his arms and he was led out of the court.
Karima went home with her family. Rico went to jail. They transported him from the court in a small cell in a secure van. As they left the court a horde of press photographers ran after the van putting their cameras to the windows, desperate to get an image of him, but as the van gathered speed they were left standing. Rico looked back out of a darkened window to see curious members of the public looking his way. He watched as they got smaller, but then the last person he saw, standing impassively as if he was a passer-by who just happened to be there, was Speech. Rico’s heart skipped a beat. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, and then watched as Speech became smaller and smaller, and disappeared. Rico let his anger go, sat down in his mobile prison, and began to think about all the things he would never do again.
Hope and Fear
I was militant and lonely
When my innocence was battered;
There was no one to hold me
When the hope I had was shattered.
My city and my life in flames
All our foundations shaking;
Fake people playing deadly games –
Not fire of my making.
I too have suffered terror
It came to me in person;
I made a drastic error –
Now I must bear the burden,
I was shaken by the horror –
Don’t mock my immaturity;
For in my darkest hour –
I was tricked into this tragedy.
This tragedy has broken me,
I struggle to communicate,
I’m trying to hold my sanity –
Their bombs do not discriminate –
This tragedy keeps killing me,
My self-esteem must be rebuilt,
I used to dream of being free –
Now I am filled with fear and guilt.
I must rise up and forward on
And overcome the guilt and fear,
Now my innocence has gone
And I must serve my sentence here;
I too have suffered terror,
And I still dream of being free,
But I promise to do better –
And not let evil conquer me.
About the Author
Benjamin Zephaniah was born and raised in Handsworth, Birmingham. By the age of fifteen he had gained a reputation as a young poet who was capable of speaking out on local and international issues. His poetry was strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he called ‘street politics’. He is also a musician and was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley.
As well as writing poetry, novels for teenagers, screenplays and stage plays, he has also written and presented documentaries for television and radio, and he has been awarded sixteen honorary doctorates in recognition of his work. He is now a professor of Poetry and Creative Writing at Brunel University and lives in Lincolnshire. To find out more about Benjamin, go to www.benjaminzephaniah.com or follow him on Twitter: @BZephaniah
ALSO BY BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH
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First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Hot Key Books
Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0AT
Copyright © Benjamin Zephaniah 2014
The moral ri
ghts of the author have been asserted.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-4714-0178-7
1
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Hot Key Books is part of the Bonnier Publishing Group
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