Press Releases & Updates 2004
28th July 2004
Fife Peace Activist Acquitted After Court ’Farce’
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A ’catalogue of procedural errors’ resulted in an anti-nuclear protester
being cleared of breach of the peace at Helensburgh District Court on
Tuesday. Jim Balfour (32), a student mental health nurse from Glenrothes in
Fife had been charged after lying in the road outside Faslane nuclear
submarine base in December last year.
Justice of the Peace, Viv Dance, was forced to acquit Mr Balfour after it
was revealed that he had not been warned or cautioned before being taken
into custody, nor had he been allowed an opportunity to receive
clarification of the charge.
The Scottish Socialist Party activist was scathing in his criticism of the
process leading up to his trial:
"This case has been a farce from start to finish," said Mr Balfour
afterwards. "The suggestion that a peaceful protest against weapons of mass
destruction would cause any reasonable person alarm is laughable. But if the
police feel they must unnecessarily arrest non-violent activists, they
should at least follow proper procedures."
To make matters worse for the beleaguered Procurator Fiscal, neither of the
police witnesses called by the Crown had been the arresting officers.
Unrepentant afterwards, Mr Balfour vowed to return to Faslane to continue
the ongoing campaign.
"This catalogue of procedural errors demonstrates the impact that a
concerted campaign of peaceful disobedience against injustice can have.
Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons remain illegal, so we will be back at
Faslane before long."
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Trident Ploughshares,
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