Press Releases & Updates 2004

A big THANK YOU to everyone who turned out so early on Monday morning. Bristol hadn’t expected such a large diverse, vibrant colourful and supportive turnout to escort the Fairford Five Defendants to the court. We assembled on ’The Centre’ (main square of Bristol) to march to the court and as you can see from the pics which have been posted on our website (thank you Brenda) the support was tremendous! http://www.fairfordpeacewatch.com/i...

The media coverage has been excellent at both local and national level.

Bristol Indymedia will have their own reporters in the public gallery all week who will be posting daily reports from the court on their website. http://bristol.indymedia.org/

The vigils will continue for the rest of the week: 9.00 - 10.00 am, Lunchtime 1.00 - 2.00 pm and when the court finishes each day at about 4.30 pm. If you can get there to wave a flag or banner, or just to drop by to chat about how the legal debates are going, please do join us. According to space there is also access to the public gallery to witness the proceedings. Directions to Bristol Crown Court are here: http://www.fairfordpeacewatch.com/i....

The court will conclude at the end of this week and everyone is welcome to an extra large gathering at the Peace Vigil on the Centre from about 4.00 pm onwards on Friday 30th April. SEE MAP BELOW: map

BACKGROUND

A few days before the war on Iraq, last February five activists cut their way into Fairford Air Force base. Phil Pritchard and Toby Olditch, and Josh Richards, tried to reach and disarm the B-52 bombers stationed there, waiting to attack Iraq. Paul Milling and Margaret Jones disabled trucks used for carrying bombs, and tankers for fuelling the planes.

All five are charged with conspiracy and /or criminal damage. Each of the activists offers a ’lawful excuse’ defence - that they aimed at preventing the crime of the Iraq war. Therefore - in an unprecedented move - the question of whether the war was in fact illegal has to be considered at High Court level, before the trials can go ahead .

http://www.fairfordpeacewatch.com/i...

Michael Smith, 40, a social worker from Glasgow appeared in Helensburgh District Court today for taking part in the Really Big Blockade on 22 April last year. After both police witnesses had given a straightforward account of the facts Michael argued that there was no case to answer as the necessary test for a Breach of the Peace had not been passed. He quoted at least five major High Court rulings but JP Gillies rejected his argument without even adjourning to study them.

Michael then went on to present his own defence outlining all the International Laws breached by the Trident weapons system and said

Given the weight of international law indicating the illegality of these weapons I suggest that the only just and moral thing to do it to oppose their deployment and indeed take steps to prevent their deployment. Do we want to live in the kind of society where principled action is considered in the same way as drunken yobbery? I suggest that people in Scotland dont want that kind of society. I ask the court to support a society where people have the freedom to protest against great injustices.

After a short adjournment Michael was found guilty and fined £175.

TP activists in court said

We are again frustrated that JP Gillies ignored all the legal arguments and reduced justice to a mere issue of sitting in a road.

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