Press Releases & Updates 2005

Alan Wilkie, 73, from Edinburgh, who was convicted of a breach of the peace at the blockade in April 2003, told Lady Cosgrove, Lord Bracadale and Lord Nimmo Smith that the arrest breached his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights by discriminating against him, when police arrested him but did not arrest a group whose conduct was identical to his. The group who were not arrested included MSP Tommy Sheridan and other candidates for the Scottish Parliament elections which were held the following week. The selective arrest policy was seen to be politically motivated.

The court quashed Alan’s conviction, saying that the magistrate, Justice of the Peace Viv Dance, had misdirected herself by refusing to admit written evidence from Tommy Sheridan and others which supported the claim that the arrests had been selective. While they did not specifically mention the ECHR, it is clear that they took the view that evidence which related to a claim under Article 14 of that Convention should have been admitted because it was wholly relevant.

Alan said: “I am delighted that this appeal has been upheld at a time when the right to protest peacefully is under attack on so many fronts. This is only one small step but I hope that it will make the police and the prosecuting authorities more careful in the future about trampling on people’s rights.”

A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: “As we usually do before these mass blockades we are again asking Strathclyde Police not to take the side of an unlawful system of WMD and arrest people engaged in peaceful protests. If they do indulge in mass arrests we will be watching very carefully for any discriminatory practice.”

The blockade will take place on Monday 4th July, two days before the start of the G8 Summit. It is expected to be one of the biggest direct actions against militarism ever in the UK.

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