Press Releases & Updates 2001

In the first, Louise McLeary (23) from Kirkcaldy refused to attend to answer a charge of breach of the peace relating to the Big Blockade at Faslane on February 12th this year. Louise is blind and has not received details of the charge against her in a format which is accessible to her. Under the circumstances, the Justice of the Peace in charge, Viv Dance could have issued a warrant for Miss McLeary’s arrest. Instead she asked that inquiries be made into making the relevant information available to Miss McLeary before the next scheduled hearing.

Louise McLeary, a fourth year Dundee University student said, "I have the right to have the same information made available to me as any other accused person in this country. The Procurator Fiscal in Dumbarton would seem to prefer that I am reliant on someone else reading court letters to me. I consider this to be a breach of my human rights."

Miss McLeary intends to defend herself in due course.

In a later trial today, SSP Glenrothes Chair Morag Balfour (28) was acquitted of breach of the peace relating to an incident outside Coulport Armaments Depot on 4th October 2000. Ms Balfour’s solicitor Terry Gallanagh exposed discrepancies in the statements of the two police witnesses and argued that the charge of breach of the peace did not apply because Ms Balfour was acting peacefully and was not placing anyone in a state of fear, alarm or distress. His motion that there was therefore no case for Ms Balfour to answer was upheld by Justice Viv Dance.

The verdict was greeted with applause from Trident Ploughshares supporters in court.

Morag Balfour said afterwards: "I am delighted with this verdict. Though it takes little away form our disappointment over what happened to Dougie Kinnear on Monday, we shall still celebrate. It’s hard to believe that non-violent resistance against an installation housing weapons of mass destruction could instill fear and alarm in anyone, least of all those who are trained to defend that installation against terrorist attacks."

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