11 MAY 1992
7th May 92
11 Venetia Road, London N4 1EJ
Rt. Hon. Chris Patten,
c/o Conservative Central Office,
Smith Square,
S.W.1.
Dear Chris Patten,
Many years ago we spoke on a platform in a church together in Bath and on that thin connection I base a personal appeal.
You will soon be going to Hong Kong and I congratulate you on that very responsible appointment. Could you please use your new influence to get the authorities in this country and in Hong Kong to accept that LORRAIN OSMAN who has already spent 6 years in prison in this country ought now to be released. His is an extradition case which you must have heard about. The line taken by the judiciary is that Osman is responsible for his own predicament: he ought not to have resisted extradition. Perhaps so if this were a normal case. But it is not. The prosecutor who started the case is now himself in prison for corruption, a critical witness has been murdered and hundreds if not thousands of documents have been denied to the defence.
Osman says that he is not guilty of criminal activity. Whether he is or not he has spent what must amount to a twelve or thirteen year prison sentence granted remission and parole. His wife has had
a wretched time and was even subjected at one stage to a police dawn raid in London on the grounds that she might have guns..
Your officials will give you yards of facts I want to put it
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to you that this is a time for mercy, especially in a case where there have been so many odd goings on.
In the grand total of human suffering I suppose that Osman's case is only one amongst many. But it is one which you can now do something about. I hope you will.
Very sincerely,
Bruce Kent.
Brun Kent.
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