Press Releases & Updates 2012

In October 2010 Barbara Dowling and Janet Fenton appeared at a session of the JP court within the Sheriff Court building in Dumbarton accused of a breach of the peace during a blockade of Faslane naval base, home to the UK’s Trident nuclear weapon submarines. Justice Ross refused to hear their defence and appeared to have made up her mind before all the evidence was put before the court. She would not allow them to put their argument that they had a right to disrupt the illegal work at Faslane under international humanitarian law.

Immediately following the trial they painted on internal walls of the court slogans indicating the failure of the court to uphold international law. Yesterdays’s trial was in the Sheriff Court to answer a charge of damaging the walls without reasonable excuse. Barbara and Janet accepted that they had painted the court’s walls but maintained their not guilty plea as they felt that the public needed to know that the court did not uphold international law. Finding them guilty Sheriff Anderson deferred sentence until March 19th in order to obtain Social Enquiry Reports.

Barabara Dowling said "The proper reaction to moral wrong is indignation, outrage and action. This was not vandalism, it was political graffiti to let the general public know that their court does not uphold International Law."

Janet Fenton said "I was instrumental in bringing the former President of the International Court of Justice to Scotland to talk to our lawyers and explain how Trident is illegal. Having a court that is not even willing to listen to a properly prepared legal defence based on that information is shocking"

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