Ch (9) Rain on my Brain

19th January 2017
Ive been locked down in my tiny cell for more two weeks...
Today, at last...We were allowed to go  outside into the yard covered by steel grids.

There was no sun..
a storm was brewing..
the sky was an orange glow...
and I shivered in my thin plastic jacket as I walked down the cold long passage...

But i went on out, following the few others who appreciated the opportunity to take a breath of fresh air.
Air that has not been rebreathed or tainted so foul by these tightly closed cell blocks.
As i walked out over the dry powdery earth.. the sky opened.

This hot dry desert so long, so harsh.
The rain poured down in big heavy drops.
Bursting cool on my scalp..
was  so wow !!
I walked on out into the long bleak high walled yard as the damp smell of wet dust rose around me.
I tore off my jacket and the wrinkled old tee shirt and stood with my arms out sideways as the rain gushed over the startled bare skin of my shoulders and back.
My face to the sky.. and eyes closed .. drops plopping on my eyelids and face..
I prayed a thank you.. and the others must have thought me a bit crazy..
but I ignored that..
as they came out from the sheltered edges and copied me in my ritual of chilly gratitide and acceptance of the great gift.

I think it was for me..

Just to say.. stay..

Im here...

Keep Faith...

Summary of events

The Gareth Rutherford Case

Gareth Rutherford is a British Citizen, born in Cape Town and educated at South African College School.  He studied Civil Engineering and has worked in engineering consultancy and run a small contracting company.
Having been conscripted into the South African Army at the age of 20, he was awarded the Honorus Crux medal for bravery (South Africa’s highest military bravery award); as an infantry medic he had tended to wounded soldiers during a fierce battle, saving lives whilst under fire with no regard for his own safety.

Gareth later worked as a civilian “Ministry of Defence” contractor for a British company in Basra, serving the British Military based at the Basra airport military enclave in Iraq.  As such he fell under British military close protection and was obliged to follow UK Military safety procedures.  By 2008 he had held this post for five years.

In the early morning of the 18th of September 2008, Gareth was heading off on leave via a booking made through the RAF Movements Office.  He flew with a RAF C130 from Basra in Iraq to the Kuwait Military Airport where he arrived along with British Embassy staff who were also on leave; he travelled with them in the official embassy vehicle to Kuwait City.

Gareth then slept for a couple of hours at a hotel used by his company.  A company vehicle had been left for him at the hotel and he drove off to see his employers who were expecting him at the company office in Kuwait City. Gareth was carrying company cash with him.

Whilst on his way to the office, Gareth got a call from his Iraqi interpreter in Basra asking him to collect some equipment from a specific garage in Jahra; the collection was apparently a favour for their cement suppliers. At the garage two Kuwaiti citizens loaded wheelbarrows, spades, tools and a large tyre onto the pickup - one of a set of tyres that the men had in their car. As Gareth was refuelling the vehicle, the interpreter called again and spoke to Gareth for a few minutes to check the progress of the collection, he told Gareth to drop the equipment at a known tyre repair shop near the Holiday Inn in Kuwait City.        

Gareth headed off and was subsequently arrested by approximately ten waiting policemen as he approached the tyre shop. He had been nowhere near a border crossing or back to the international airport and was driving a vehicle that had been kept at the hotel in Kuwait. All of these facts could have been corroborated if investigated.

Gareth’s arresting officers and accusers alleged that he had driven across the border from Iraq with the spare tyre filled with drugs in the vehicle and was thus a “trafficker”, the most severe of the drug offences. They claimed that the company cash he was carrying was evidence of this. Kuwaiti citizens at a garage in Kuwait had loaded the tyre on to the vehicle; there were many witnesses to this, but it was never investigated.

The Criminal Investigation Police forced Gareth to sign a statement under extreme duress, having been threatened, manhandled and kept in isolation in the dark for four days.  The statement was written in Arabic and he was told that it was a translation of his statement of the events. It transpired that it was not a translation of his statement but rather a fabricated confession that he had brought the tyre filled with drugs over the border from Iraq. Gareth had not been given access to an independent interpreter or an English-speaking lawyer at this stage.  

A trial was held during which Gareth was not able to testify. There was no clear or correct translation provided during the proceedings.

The trial ran for a period of approximately six months, Gareth made only eight, very brief, appearances, the longest lasting for around ten minutes. Gareth was given an UK embassy appointed lawyer who consulted with Gareth for no more than 40 minutes throughout the entire case; the lawyer was not even present at all the court appearances.

An appeal was held two months after the initial verdict: a life sentence of 25 years. Gareth made an appearance lasting 7 minutes; his lawyer did not consult with him at all for the appeal appearance. There was no opportunity for testimony, no witnesses were called and no evidence was presented. The outcome was the same, a life sentence of 25 years in Kuwaiti prison.

Gareth has been in prison in Kuwait since 2008 following these two very questionable trials.

We wish to raise a voice of appeal to the Emir of Kuwait, the Kuwaiti Government, the UK Government and the UK Prime Minister.

This case needs to be properly investigated and Gareth must be released.

Status as at End 2016

To whom it may concern
So many caring friends

Thank you most kindly for your care and interest with this long drawn out humanitarian and legal miscarriage.
I hope my below listed  responses are sufficient to better explain to you, some of the most common queries regarding this unfortunate incident.

Current Status

I was arrested 18thsept 2008 in Kuwait city centre, in broad daylight.. and have been in jail ever since.

I was tried in a court of Kuwaiti law.. and convicted of trafficking in drugs and liquor.

I was initially sentenced to life in jail (or 25 years.) This was reduced by 10 years, to 15years... for good behaviour.

I have completed 8 years and have 7 more to go, until 2024.

This has mercifully been reduced by a further 4 years to a remaining 3 years... also marked by good behaviour...Which is marked on my file as around about 2020.

The exact protocols for my mail and packages are as follow.. 
Including the liaison person(s) for status updates on mail and packages.

We dont encourage sending of  any parcels,  as authorisations are very difficult and all packages dissapear.

c/o Ms Caroline le Quesne
Vice Consul
British Embassy Kuwait
(Detainee Gareth KCP)
P.o.box 2
Safat 13001
Kuwait

Uk Embassy 00965 22594320

Caroline le Quesne
00965 22594358

caroline.lequesne@fco.gov.uk
sahar.mohseni@fco.gov.uk

Ambassador
Matthew.lodge@fco.gov.uk

Until now, we have recieved no responses from any Kuwait gov parties or official courtesy.

Prisoners Abroad in london are supportive and will assist relocation.. money..registration.. accommodation and documentation when I arrive safely  back to London after my release.

They have had a file on me since 2008.

Fairtrials International declined to review my case.. (rebecca shaeffer) but they also have a file on me .
My lawyer was unavailable  when FTI tried to contact him...and Embassy advised against contesting the verdict set in stone.

Amnesty International in S.A. reviewed my case under Dr Thinus Coetzee.. They regarded my case as criminal, and as such, they felt it had no grounds for a human rights appeal. 

The very extensive file,  was consequently referred to Amnesty International in London and ignored. 2014.

Walkfree organisation also ignored all approaches.

BBC London declined to comment or,  as we gather, they were concerned that publication of these gross legal and human rights infractions could jeopardise the sensitive diplomatic relationships between the UK and Kuwait.
This could ultimately insult the Kuwaiti sovereign judiciary.

My present position here is as a common criminal prisoner sentenced to life (25yr).imprisonment  .. for trafficking in hashish...(49 kg),  hidden inside a spare tyre in my cargo load.

2014 Reduced sentence to 15yrs... for being a good model prisoner.

2016 reduced further four years...for academic achievements...and
Cancellation of all fines.

I am a British citizen and have always carried a valid passport.

I was born of British parents in colonial Kenya 1959.
I am South African and have dual nationality with permission from home affairs..

Date of marriage and children.Married Cape town 19 Dec1989
Only child 1998

The actual dates of my employment leading up to my incarceration 2008.
My last employment term was  Sept 2003 to my arrest Sept 17th 2008.

My title as Operations Maintenance Manager included tasking in Iraq for five years as Senior field operations manager for Inchcape Shipping Services,  trading as KMMC in Kuwait...administered from London and Dxb.  

These contracts were in turn, subcontracted to Kellogg Brown and Root.(KBK UK) also headed from Leatherhead HQ in London.

Contracted in turn by U.K. Ministry of Defence.. in support of British troops in Iraq and coalition efforts.

My dear old mother died very prematurely of overexertion because of my lack of attendance.. and undet a cloud of unbearable shame ..Nov16 2014. R.i.p.

My 87 yr old father is weak and needs me badly.. but is fading fast too.

I have repeatedly sent letters to the amir of kuwait who is the only authority permitted to free me, or to  make any  adjustments to my status.

Even my old father has written numerous personal appeals to the Amir ..also all unanswered.

I have a long established case of PTSD and have recieved limited treatment for it here.
I have the medical documentation on my file.

I have been well cared for, and protected by the British Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) via British Embassy in Kuwait.

They are only ever a phonecall away.. and respond immediately if ever i have a situation.
They deliver cash to the prison which gets sent to me from various close friends.. via electronic transfer as per fco.gov.uk website.

Parcels are declined now as embassy feel they exceed their limitations by requesting repeated  special authorisations,  when delivering goods to the prison for me.

I have become ever more confident and well convinced of our detailed legal approach and credibility throughout this campaign.

The impact of this campaign will be most effective while i am in jail.

I need therefore ..to continue with as much public exposure as possible before my captors release me surreptitiously.

My stance remains courteous and regretful.. but it has to be assertive confident and absolutely honest.

My new global petition comes out soon and is well underway for christmas.

So .. as much as we are all outraged and incensed by the extent of the complex and sensitive limitations by embassy .. lawyers and business collegues.. we remain most cautious and discrete.. because we need them on our side... perhaps for years to come.

I have resolved to persevere with this campaign because so much effort has been expended over the years, and much has been achieved.

There is no stopping now as it  would be a tragic waste and a great dissapointment to many..

Many strangers have joined with us here and stand strong and vocal.
Every one a treasured friend forever.

One last thing i am most pleased to mention.. is, that I  alone...am so small and weak,  and insignificant in the scheme of things..
but our success  together over these wealthy and powerful political elements, is a victory for truth and justice in this messed up world.

Your passion...your outrage.. your care.. did this.

Many many thanks..

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/appeal-to-the-authorities-and-the-emir-of-kuwait?utm_medium=email&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=thank-you

Queries regarding Diplomatic Intervention

It is my pleasure to clarify some of the undercurrents.
My lawyer 2009.. apparently approached the british naval attache at the embassy.. to get confirmation of my flight bookings night of 17sept 2008.

This would have proved that I did not drive across military border post.. and that all my alibis were truthful.
Apparently...British military stood back and stated categorically that at the time of my arrest,   I was operating alone in kuwait, out of their care as a civilian contractor.
As such, it was a civilian matter and nothing to do with them.
If I had been on a military transport or official escort , as was normally my practice.. it would have been in  their interest to assist.

So it was a justified response by them , because I was on my way home on leave and had left the shelter of the military the night before.

I had to settle for this,  understanding the extreme sensitivity of the high security military relationship that was being threatened.

Embassy warned me about this politely.

What I had caused ,was an appalling shame.. an extreme embarrassment and it was my duty and obligation to keep myself and this debacle as far away from my company..Inchcape and KBR,
the associated British M.O.Defense  primary contractors.. and the british forces ... as possible.

I did that.

Asking Tony Blair or his office for advice or influence ... once, is a knock on the door.
Twice, a second time... they  might open to see whos there....

Thrice they ask your name.

Four times they might look at your letter... and suggest trying the neighbours.

Thats how it works..or doesnt..
Persistence has a better chance....

I am attending a religious school.
It is the most insidious brainwashing mechanism put in place to reorientate the most evil criminals in the country.
I am compelled to participate for obvious reasons.
They love having me in there.

For many of the poor criminals in here,  it is a very good thing...as for the first time in their criminal lives they get sight of social values and some self discipline... no spitting.. no killing...no more raping..and...
the alternative is too sad for me to explain here.

I am one alone here in this jail..
a single, educated, white, english  speaking, still christian, British Citizen.

I tried swimming against the flow initially.. but it was futile.
They scorned my religious fortitude and broke my wooden cross.. lured me to their heathen ways. Threatened me and attacked me twice.
They rubbed my nose into their precious sacred dogma and cajoled me into faux conversion rituals.

I found my safe middle ground and have only become stronger.. more resolute and my support groups have burgeoned.
They commend me and inspire me to keep going.. hoping....
And we are doing it..many of us now...

I have a limited protection amongst some "friends"  in here, who respect my individuality and the consistent good example I have set... they cannot be seen to be too sympathetic or to be following too closely in my infidel ways....but weve survived thus far and it remains always ..
that  I  am alone here..

 And my smile every day hides my constant torment.. an effective facade against my, once failing resolve.

No matter how much I have tried to assimilate.. I could never become quite like any of them.
I couldnt.. i tried..

I joined the mosque and attended all the classes as I applied myself to the language .. culture.. religion and social practices....and ive enjoyed it and I am proud of my  modest achievements there.

After all the years .. I had no choice, but to go with the flow, and martyrdom is not my track.
I made the best of it .. but its been so hard and so humiliating.

I learnt other things.. more and better !
I swam obliquely downstream and found my compromise..
I learnt how to grab a hold on the riverbank.. but i will  still never be one of them.

I am alone here ...and frozen out of their groups because of my continued loyalty to my roots and my heritage.

Embassy seemed to be dissapointed in me because of these Muslim affiliations.. though I cant yet quite isolate their exact  attitudes or sentiments but i will learn more at my next meeting with them.

Even the kuwait church groups scorn my entanglement with the web of islam and the clutches of its spinners.

I am so alone.
In order to get through every day where embassy are compelled by their diplomatic limitations,  and keep their polite distance from this worthy cause. .. I have to make my own path through this cultural and political minefield.
But they will soon be on board with us.

I am compelled to do anything that will afford me the briefest reprieve and even as Embassy fco are so respectfully cautious still..they will soon see the reasons for my apparent  disloyalty or ingratitude.

I am alone here.

Nobody needs a sad sack..
I am  not that..

Im fine..
Better,  stronger ..
And maybe learnt a tutch.?

But please dont be deceived by my faux bravado or stoic smiles.
This torment is such a continued trauma. 
This trumped-up punishment is a gross violation of my human rights.This has been ignored for all the above reasons.

The matter of my exoneration or immediate release has been constantly avoided..because the authorities all see that I am in good health and monitored under maximum security.... but they will never know the sadness.. horror.. trauma that I have so well hidden year after year.

Im not doing that anymore..
Im not going to conceal the  twisting blade they've already driven so deep.

My dear mother died in the clouds of shame and sadness alone without my hand at her side because of this.
My old dad ailing now in his last years, waiting too.. in vain.

Even as i have made these empassioned appeals to embassy and various government agencies on all sides... they have all stayed well aloof and impotent.

Some basic personal items, sent to me from far away at enormous expense and great effort.... dental floss. Underpants.. marmite.. bedsheets and covers.. lay untended .. unaddressed for over a year at embassy... as diplomacy failed. The prison beurocracy seemed to be inflexible.
Six registered packages  addressed to british embassy kuwait , were stolen at kuwait postal depot.
Dissapeared.!

Nothing was said or done..
I fear so much causing any ill to my tentative relationship... even now,  too afraid to phone them.
I am so alone ..

All this should have been suitably resolved diplomatically long ago.
It was sadly such a great trauma and dissapointment .. specially to all those caring friends that sent them...a travesty of compassion.. but I forgive them.

I know that when I do get out  of this jail one day,  to address the offices legally.. and in my detailed  publications. .. that they will scoff saying "why ?".. "for goodness sakes Gareth.. didnt you say something sooner..?" "
You poor fellow..""we had no idea"
"Oh we gave you everything we could Gareth... but ignored your mistrials for political sensitivities.."
"So sorry you didnt point this out eight years ago Gareth.."
"We needed only to phone the Amir... you should have written more clearly Gareth"
"You seemed so happy Gareth"
"Our hands were tied"
"Gareth ..you must understand that Fco may not intervene in a  sovereign criminal judiciary...especially as political tensions are so strained globally."

And we respect that...

Well .. Ive been saying all this for a  long time but have been  continuously rebuffed.
There are thankfully crowds of thousands who have now  witnessed this spectacle.

All it would have taken, was one phonecall..
It could have been settled long back..

Still..and I am ever grateful to them for having come this far under the circumstances and, though years delayed... they will join with us in the success of  this long concealed truth and its justice.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/appeal-to-the-authorities-and-the-emir-of-kuwait?utm_medium=email&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=thank-you

Military 2 = Survivor Guilt.. Shared Honour

Response by

Gareth Rutherford...Regarding the award of Honorus Crux for gallantry and to a glowing tribute to the thirteen young men that died one day defending our country in June 1980 as recorded by Revered Historian, Mentor and Devoted schoolmaster..

Mr Axel  Brauman.

Gareth writes... 

Thank you Sir for awakening this long dormant memory..by this great tribute to the men who were part of one of the last few concerted military operations executed in the defence of our heritage ...civilization and hometowns..

Most importantly as the echos of yesterdays anniverary of op Sceptic still reverberate on 10th June every year, the memories of our lost brothers, forever young and brave. We will never forget them. 

I have explained previously how I always was embarrassed at being the only HC recipient  that day amongst many braver men.

Everyone taking part in that intense battle did something brave in that enemy territory, and in a fair world there would have been 500 awards..

But it cannot be so.. there has to be something rare and uncommon for this award to be of any significance.

As it happened, I was doing the right thing that day.. in the right place and I was seen doing it.. by the right person.. unknown to myself...enough to be noticed and commended.

Credit to my training and trainers who were most proud of this HC..
it was as much their achievement as it was to Col Dippenaar leading us into battle and Col Tony Savides our Commanding Officer back at base. 

There were silences by my comrades that caused me great distress and reservations 
because every one of them deserved that same award. .. we know that.

After many years of discussion and detailed introspection ..
we realised that my declining the award would have been a pointless snub.. And so I undertook to use it as a lense, to focus back to our fallen,  and the brave soldiers who made up that team..our platoon... our entire battle group.

It is an accolade to be hailed and applauded.. not to me alone .. but to the calibre of the men that fought together that day all those years ago. Every grenade thrown or bullet fired by me those days came from the concerted efforts of every chef and Admin clerk back at base all the way down the line. 

So today.. I no longer scuttle around in pensive glory.. or undeserving shame...
I will wear that award proudly in front of them all, now knowing that I am their representative..
and my voice and pen will continue to hail their great efforts so proudly.

For many years the "survivor guilt" I carried cast doubts on my pride and this great honour.

 As I was honoured, the bravest lay dead as their families grieved. It was so hard. 

Time was generous to me and after many close examinations of the events by the wisest of our historians, I became ever more grateful to find that every one of my fellow veterans present there in that battle, applauded my single actions that day, running the gauntlet alone and tending the wounded and dying under fire.. Actions that were well deserving of this great acknowledgement..

To any one that ever disapproved...I will gladly hand it over to him.

Thank you my brothers for your vital affirmations.. Of this accolade most humbly appreciated and worn with such great honour.

But yes.. most proudly still..
An accolade for 61⚡⚡, and never to forget those who died and their long-suffering families.

God bless them all. 

Dont Read This...too scary!

We went outside into the yard covered by steel grids.
There was no sun.. the sky was an orange glow.. and i shivered.
But i went on out following the few others who appreciated the the opportunity to take a breath of fresh air. Air that has not been rebreathed or tainted so by these tightly closed cell blocks.
As i walked out over the dry powder earth.. the sky opened.
This hot dry desert so long so harsh.
The rain poured down in big heavy drops. Bursting cool on my scalp.. was  so wow !!
I walked on out into the long bleak high walled yard as the damp smell of wet dust rose around me.
I tore off my jacket and wrinkled old tee shirt and stood with my arms out sideways as the rain gushed over the startled bare skin of my shoulders and back.
My face to the sky.. and eyes closed .. drops plopping on my eyelids and face..
I prayed a thank you.. and the others must have thought me a bit crazy.. but i ignored that.. as they came out from the sheltered edges and copied me in my ritual of chilly gratitide and acceptance of the great gift.
I think it was for me..
Just to say.. stay..

Ch (3) What Happened.. Summary

I started working at Inchcape Shipping Services trading as KMMC in Kuwait in September  2003 as an operations maintenance  manager on Military Logistics.

Travel cross border after 2005 became very highly restricted under military escort only.
And then after 2006 only by air.

We naturally cut down our movements to the bare minimum  and I flew to Kuwait to collect personnel and cash about once a month.

The security situation deteriorated early 2006 and a number of my collegues opted out of the scary war ..left the operational area..  and l fell into a more senior position and became the most senior field operations manager over the entire project. 

Port operations at Umm Qassar harbour  separated from my control but l still flew in from time to time by helicopter and dropped off large quantities of cash for the execution of shipping services as they required.

All my flights were on military aircraft.. authorised by British ministry of defence (MOD) and as my activities were all operational .. my travel authorisations were military, vetted by British Military Attache at the Embassy in Kuwait.

I required no passport and carried only a laminated UK. MOD military authorisation registered with the Kuwait Ministry of Interior.

Copies of all these authorisations are on file at  Inchcape  Shipping Services in Kuwait.

As a supplier of labour ..materials and machines to a number of different subcontractors... l sourced all our requirements and spoke with many local suppliers in lraq.

I was a networker and knew everybody..  military and civilian....and everyone knew me in Iraq.

I arrived on a military  hercules Aircraft from Iraq at the Kuwait military airport  on the midnight flight of 17th September 2008.

I went through all the high security checks before leaving  together with staff from the british  embassy.
I carried only cash and documents.

After l had arrived back at my hotel...l drove the company vehicle  to my office where I was to go over all the paperwork and finances for the next few weeks.

En route to my office.. the lraqi contractors phoned me from their location on site in Basrah airport ,  to request me to collect their tools.

I was running late.. it was Thursday and my bosses at the office were expecting me along with a heap of gifts I had managed to get hold of some weeks previously.

So l was a bit annoyed by the request to detour so far out of my way...but l was strictly obliged to do their every bidding and to keep our relations on track for the promise of much future business.

There was no question.. l had no option.. and so l sped out  in my pickup to collect all the goods they had waiting for me to deliver.

l drove straight to the fuelstation location they described... and then loaded the articles..wheelbarrow.. toolbox.. spades and a spare tyre.
I left immediately to the location they directed me to ,  near my hotel.

There was nothing illegal or suspicious and l trusted them all completely.  
I had worked with them for months before,  loading and unloading cement in the batching yard and had eaten lunch with them a couple of times.

When l arrived, the whole CID  drug squad were lying in wait for me there.

They made the whole thing look like it was l that was "the big drug supplier",  who had just driven from lraq in my pickup with a load of beer .. hashish inside a tyre.
The tyre had been filled with packets of hashish and neatly closed using some machine i guess. Nearly 50 kg i was told.
I guessed far too much..

I was arrested that afternoon  of 18th Sept 2008.
My flight home had been booked for  the  following day.
A flight i still long for.

The Cid police took all the cash in my possession.. and threw all my documentation out into the carpark and interrogated me alone for days until finally in the end a police investigator phoned the embassy.

The whole thing had been meticulously planned and it is now  so awfully simple to see it all in hindsight.

There were four other tyres with those druglords that i saw..
I was arrested for doing my job a little too well...
Slammed into jail where ive been ever since for this.
For doing this.
The druglords and their cohorts all free and trading out there, have not stopped laughing at all this...  ever since.