SAMANTHA' S COURT ORDEAL

The second Wednesday in January was an atrabilious day for Dutch Justice as well as for Samantha. We asked her to tell the story herself, of what happened when she was summonsed to appear before the Magistrates, accused of broadcasting on Radio Caroline. So here, in Samantha's own words, is the account of her experiences:
"I went to court on the 12th of January in Amsterdam. I didn't have a lawyer because it is too expensive for me to pay. There were 3 witnesses in the court to testify against me, ex-crewmen Gunter the cook, Derek the generator engineer & Jan the sailor. The Dutch court is really Mickey Mouse. I am very ashamed of being of Dutch nationality. Why do I say that? Well, firstly there wasn't a jury. I pleaded not guilty. So the court called one of the witnesses, in that case it was Jan the sailor. The court asked him if he recognized me as being Samantha alias Ellen Kraal broadcasting illegally on board the ship called Mi Amigo. Well much to my surprise, Jan denied everything. He said that he never knew me. If that had happened in an English court the second witness would be called up. But the Dutch wankers just warned Jan that he was committing perjury, and he could get up to 6 months imprisonment for going back on his word. I was found guilty and given 3 weeks suspended sentence, plus a 200 pounds fine. The 3 weeks suspended sentence is for 2 years, so if I get caught within the 2 years I go to jail for 3 weeks. Actually I'm going back to the ship. I haven't paid the fine, and I'm not planning to either, which means 40 days imprisonment. The only reason why I was taken to court is because of the 3 above-mentioned people signing a statement under oath that they were with me on the ship, and saw me broadcasting in English".
Samantha certainly has the courage of her convictions, and we all wish her many more years afloat. Perhaps if there was more of her buccaneering spirit around the outlook for offshore radio would be a brighter one!