Press Releases & Updates 2005

Roz from Edinburgh, was charged with painting the entrance road to the Royal Navy Media Reception Centre at Rhu, close to the Trident base at Faslane, on August 30th last year.

Roz readily admitted that she had painted the road at the gateway to the Centre but explained that her conduct had been peaceful and her actions had been justified. The Media Centre ought to be telling the truth about Trident. The UK government was willing to use its nuclear weapons - a form of terrorism which disregarded all law and morality.

Justice of the Peace Andrew Nicolson found her guilty of the offence but instead of fining her, as is standard in this court, he admonished her.

Earlier Sue from Helensburgh, appeared before JP Nicolson for a deferred sentence after taking part in the blockade of Faslane in April 2003. Clare Ryan, Sue’s solicitor, told the JP that Sue would not pay a fine. Faced with the fact that any fine he imposed would sooner or later lead to a prison sentence he deferred sentence for a further six months “to be of good behaviour”, saying that he was not a huge believer in custody for minor offences. He also gave Sue more time to pay on a fine relating to another case.

A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: “The JP’s comparatively light touch today may be due to a recognition that punishment is inappropriate in these cases, when people like Roz and Sue have made considerable efforts to be accountable to the court and explain their actions.”

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