Ronnie Biggs now "political prisoner," family says (Roundup)

Jul 2, 2009, 15:16 GMT

   London - The family of Britain's 'Great Train Robber,' Ronnie Biggs, said Thursday they would appeal against the government decision to keep the frail 79-year-old in jail.

   Biggs was 'extremely disappointed' with the decision by British Justice Secretary Jack Straw not to grant him parole, his son Michael said after visiting his father Thursday.

   'My father is now more than ever a political prisoner,' he added.        But the family would 'not give up the fight' and seek a judicial review of the decision.        Straw Wednesday ruled that Biggs, who was convicted in 1964, escaped and spent 36 years on the run from police, should serve the remainder of his sentence as he had been 'wholly unrepentant.'

   'This is not justice. This is beyond belief,' his son Michael said. His father was in a 'life-threatening condition' and 'no threat to society whatsoever.'

   'Why should my father not be entitled to the same rights as paedophiles, rapists and psychopaths in this country?' asked Biggs.

   In parliament Thursday, Labour member Kate Hoye said some parliamentarians disagreed with Straw's decision and wanted a debate - a request that was rejected on technical grounds.

   Hoye said she found it hard to understand that 'hundreds of terrorists and murderers' had been freed from jail in Northern Ireland under the terms of the peace agreement, while Biggs' request for parole had been rejected.

    Biggs, who returned from Brazil in 2001 to give himself up to British police, is currently in hospital in the eastern city of Norwich after breaking a hip. He had earlier been held in jail there.

   His son said Biggs, who has suffered a series of strokes, was currently being treated for pneumonia, plus fractures of the hip, pelvis and spine and his condition was 'deteriorating.'

   'If he does not respond to the current treatment he is receiving there is a risk he could pass away,' said Michael Biggs.

   Biggs was a member of a 15-strong gang which raided the Glasgow to London mail train in August, 1963, and made off off with 2.6 million pounds, a record at the time and dubbed in Britain 'The Great Train Robbery.'

   He was given the 30-year sentence but after 15 months he escaped from prison in London and went on the run, living in Spain, Australia and Brazil.

   Straw ruled that he should not be granted parole, despite a recommendation to the contrary from the prison parole board which considers the release of convicts after they have served about a third of their sentence.

   Biggs' legal adviser, Giovanni Di Stefano, branded the decision 'perverse' and accused Straw of 'cruel and unusual punishment.'