Dear friends and family,   

Dear friends and family,

As you know, we have asked you to mark our 64th birthday on 3 June 2012 by making donations to Fair Trials International (FTI), a very important charity whose activities we describe below.

We have both travelled a great deal and have never encountered any serious problems while abroad. However, we are very aware that things can go badly wrong because of ignorance of local law and customs and because of language issues. Innocent people regularly get arrested when travelling in other countries whose languages they do not speak and whose laws are a mystery to them.

FTI was established to help people in this terrifying predicament to obtain a fair trial. FTI has helped thousands of people who have been arrested or jailed in a foreign country and has secured the release of victims of miscarriages of justice across the globe - it is the only charity that helps people in this way.

Martin, in particular, is very conscious of this, having been a trustee of FTI  from 2008 to 2011.  Like FTI, we believe that respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law is essential and that it is very important that the right to a fair trial is respected in practice. All too often people are imprisoned for months or years before their trial even starts, people who have no idea of their rights, no comprehension of the local legal system and no legal aid to help them pay for a lawyer or interpreter. People in this position are often convicted when they should not have been.

FTI has helped thousands of people on trial in a foreign country and has secured the release of victims of miscarriages of justice across the globe - it is the only charity that helps people in this way.

Please use our birthday as a reason for making a donation to FTI so that it can continue to fight individual cases of injustice and to campaign for fair trials for people all over the world.

Martin and Jane