Did Shell in fact offer to intervene in the case if Ken agreed to end his protests?
Wiwa: During the time my brother was in detention, we exchanged a lot of letters. And I visited quite a number of embassies in Nigeria, and worked with human rights and environmental groups. All of the people I met pointed in one direction: go and talk to Shell. So I went to the British High Commissioner in Nigeria, and told him about the problems, and that I would like to see the head of Shell to discuss my brother’s freedom and the freedom of our colleagues who were detained. At my request, he arranged a meeting between myself and the head of Shell in Nigeria. Over three periods that we met, I pled with him to use his influence to stop the trial and to save the lives of my brother and the other colleagues. He said to me that it would be difficult, but not impossible. But he said we should show good will. So I asked him what he meant by good will. He said that I should write a press release on MOSOP [the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People] letterhead, saying there was no en
