page six A student of literature in a large university, and dur- _ ing the course of the acade- mic year you have made many friends, one of whom a sensitive and conscien tious fellow, you have not seen for over a_ week. Another friend of yours tells vou that the friend in ques- tion was picked up last week by the police and nobody has seen him since. Concerned, you decide to go down to the police station and ask to see him though you are warned by HUGH SINCLAIR reprinted by CANADIAN UNIVERSITY PRESS from ARTHUR against it by your friends. When you arrive at the police station, you inquire after your friend and are told that he is under arrest and is not allowed any visitors. You ask what your friend has been charged with and you are answered tersely that it is none of your business and to leave the station at once and go straight home. This rebuttal outrages you. You shout at = officer who rebuked Amnesty Int you, that he has no bloody right to speak to you in such a manner, or hold your friend in custody without allowing him visitors, and that you will not be put offf by an officious flunky of a repressive system. As soon as these words leave your lips, you realize you have made a serious mistake. The officer is a tall lean man in his forties, with icy blue eyes, thin lips, greying hair cut close to his scalp and steel rimmed glasses. He seems to look right into vou. He asks coldly what your relationship is with the fellow who is being held. Your answer that he is just a friend from university, whom you have exchanged ideas with in the past. This is your second mistake and you know it. He smiles, and asks you politely but rather coldly, to come to his office and talk to him about the ideas you have exchanged with your friend. You reply very po- litely now that you do not really have the time to discuss your with your friend, and that if relationship The Other Press it is impossible to see him today, you will come back another day when it is vossible. The officer now asks you again, not at all politely this time, to come to his office. You answer in a trembling voice that you really must leave and tend to some errands as it is getting late. You turn to go. The officer beckons to two burly policemen of lower rank, who are standing by the door. They step forward and each take hold of your arms. Terrified now, you struggle and try to break their grip. One of them quickly twists your arm behind your back, render- ing you helpless and then briskly marchs you back to the office where you had first been asked to go. There, you are ordered to sit down opposite a large metal desk. The officer seated behind the desk, inquires again about the ideas exchanged between you and _ your friend. You tell him about the discussions on contemp- orary literature, you have had with your friend, and WECUUUANRAUARRDER RAVENS Rees aneEEe eee Nov3-7 Nov 12-15 8 pm Mon - Thurs (doors open 7:30) The 99¢ Movie Back For Good RARER ARAMARK Dr. Zhivago 2001 - A Space Odyssey RAAKARAARRAR AERA AAA Friday 7:30 pm & 10:30 pm {doors open 7-00) EE York Theatre 639 Commercial (near Hastings) aha a i a a aaah nent AR RE OAIO Seiten 7 en ia at (cag gn eae HEERU RG RESEECERES TSC RRER STEER UREE SESE TEP CRE ERU ESR RCRESESRES CURE REEROECRERREE EE aKsenReREsesenenenEe® %, how he and you jointly wrote some critiques of contemporary literature for your university paper. The officer shakes his head and cuts you off abruptly, stat- ing that you are avoiding the question and that you know what question he is talking about. You reply truthfully. in a shaking voice, that you do not. He yanks open a drawer, pulls out a file and throws a leaflet in front of you, with disgust on his face. The leaflet is one you recognize. There were a lot of these leaflets posted around the universtity recently, though no one knew by whom. The leaflet described young men dying in a war fought in another country, and the grey metal coffins which ‘brought home their mutila- ted bodies; of the injustice of sending young men off to die in a war that should not have been started and was not escalating. It called for an end to it. You explain that you have seen these leaflets, but you know nothing more about them. The officer, with contempt on his face, accus- es you of lying. ‘‘The friend you had asked t see, that you are close to and ex- change ideas with, is the author of these leaflets’’ he thunders, ‘‘and you knowa nothing of them?!’’ An ordeal of questions, accusations and more ques- tions begins, that continues for three hours. It leaves you in tears, feeling physi- cally brutalized, although a hand is never laid on you. Afterwards, you are taken to a cell which you share with three other men. Two are accused of theft, one with assault. When they learn why you are there, you are ostracized. You expect to be released in the morning, but instead are handed a meagre breakfast on a tray. When you ask to be released and demand to know what you are charged with, you are told to be silent by a guard and warn- ed that you will only make things worse for yourself. After 9 months of deten- tion, a man comes to see you, who states that he is your appointed lawyer. He informs you that you have been charged under Article 70 and Article 191-1 of the Criminal code. He asks you to plead guilty, in which case, he may be able to get you off with the lightest possible sentence; 6 months and a fine. Though the last 9 months have considerably weakened you, both physi- ‘cally and spiritually, you reply that you are innocent Friday, Nov. 7, 1980. and that the court will find you so. The lawyer shrugs and leaves. On the day of your trial, your lawyer hands you a letter. It is from your moth- er. It is the first time you have heard from her since you have been arrested. The letter tells you that a month after your arrest, your father lost his job, and that shortly afterwards, your sister did also. They have had to rely on a few friends, who secretly help them out. Your father has been unable to find work. In the courtroom, your lawyer asks you again -to plead guilty, but you refuse because you spot your friend (whom you had in- quired for the day you were arrested), sitting on the far side of the courtroom. Con- fident that he will tell them of your innocence, you look we sey Zi [ZG UE: ey bs He a- and much thinner. voids meeting your eyes. The prosecutor begins. When your friend is called to the stand, you wait, assured that he will inform the court of your innocence. Instead, he tells them that you co-wrote and assisted in distributing the leaflets in question. You cannot be- lieve this is actually hap- pening. Your first impulse ~ is to scream that he is lying, but your lawyer cautions you to be silent. Your friend is led out of the courtroom. The defense is called to make its case. Your lawyer talks of your good charac- ter, and explains that you had been led astray, but might easily be rehabilita- ted. Also, that you would not intentionally subvert the state, but had merely pic- ked up false ideals. When you are called to testify, you desperately exclaim that at him. He is.pale, haggard i;