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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it

Occupation magazine - Activism Home page  back Print  Send To friend UK factory saboteurs acquitted By JONNY PAUL 07/03/2010 20:40 http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?ID=180316 [See also the PSC press release in the end] Activists smashed arms factory to `prevent Israeli war crimes.` A group of activists who broke into an arms factory near Brighton last year and caused damage costing around £180,000 ($275,000) were found not guilty last week of causing criminal damage. In a lawsuit filed in October, seven British activists claimed they were legally justified to break in and sabotage the factory of EDO MBM Technology near Brighton, on the south coast of England, in January 2009, at the time of Operation Cast Lead. RELATED: `Boycott efforts worsening in Britain` Britains largest academic union cuts ties with Histadrut Believing that the company was violating export license regulations and sending arms components to Israel, the activists, from a group called Smash EDO, said they wanted to “slow down” the manufacture of components that were allegedly being sold to the Jewish state. The protesters threw computers and file cabinets out of the factory windows and smashed machinery using hammers, claiming they were seeking to prevent “Israeli war crimes in Gaza.” The seven admitted breaking in and causing the damage but were acquitted when the jury found them not guilty of conspiring to cause criminal damage, despite video-taped interviews of the activists that outlined their intention to cause criminal damage and “smash up” the factory. The activists used the “lawful excuse” defense – committing an offense to prevent what they say was a more serious crime because EDO was “complicit in war crimes.” Judge George Bathurst-Norman told the jury: “You may well think that hell on earth would not be an understatement of what the Gazans suffered in that time.” EDO managing director Paul Hills denied in court that the company supplied components to Israel but said it did make parts for F-16 fighter planes. Judge George Bathurst-Norman said that, despite Hill’s denials, it was clear that there was enough evidence to the contrary and that the certificates required for arms export licenses were “not worth the paper they are written on,” as they can be easily manipulated. According to The Guardian, the judge highlighted the testimony by Green Party MP and anti-Israel activist Caroline Lucas, who had tried to justify the action by saying, “All democratic paths had been exhausted and, crucially, that their actions were driven by the responsibility to prevent further suffering in Gaza.” Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor said this was not a great time for the United Kingdom’s justice system. “After reading the judge’s statement, there is no doubt that this is not a great era of the British justice system. I assume that Sderot’s children, who have lived under thousands of missiles, for years, will be able to enlighten the judge as to the meaning of “hell on earth. “I am convinced that the judge would have ruled differently had he been sitting in the Sderot youth cultural center, rather than on Brighton’s sunny shores,” the ambassador said. “What we have here is yet another example of how the hysterical campaign against the State of Israel is not merely resulting in gross injustice against the Middle East’s only Western-style democracy, it is undermining Western-style democracy at home,” said Robin Shepherd, from the London- based Henry Jackson Society think tank and author of A State Beyond the Pale: Europe’s Problem with Israel. “Bigotry does not merely cause pain and suffering to its victims, it degrades its perpetrators from within. The rule of law itself is now under threat in Britain, and judges and juries are applauding as it goes,” Shepherd said. After the verdict, one of the activists, Robert Nicholls, 52, told The Guardian: “I’m joyful really, at being a free man... We just wanted to do something that would make a real difference to the people of Palestine.” “I’ve felt very peaceful all the way through the trial because I’m proud of what I’ve done. It was the right thing to do,” said another activist, Ornella Saibene, 50. “We’re very happy that a jury of ordinary people confronted with the facts recognized that our actions were justified,” Saibene told the Bristol Evening Post. “Presented with the facts of what was going on in Palestine, they have backed our action. It’s a victory for justice and for both British and Palestinian people.” On Friday, two more of the activists were acquitted, Elijah Smith, 42, and Chris Osmond, 30. Osmond, an activist from a group called Boycott Israeli Goods, said the destruction came because of EDO’s “illegal supply of weapons” to Israel. Before the attack, Smith said on the group’s Web site, “I don’t feel I’m going to do anything illegal tonight, but I’m going to go into an arms factory and smash it up to the best of my ability so that it cannot actually produce munitions and these very dirty bombs that have been provided to the Israeli army so that they can kill children. The time for talking has gone too far. I’m not a writer, I’m just a person from the community and I’m deeply disgusted.” Smash EDO campaign spokeswoman Chloe Marsh accused Israel of committing genocide and called for EDO directors to be tried for war crimes. “The citizens of Britain are no longer prepared to stand idly by whilst Israel commits genocide with the backing of our own government. Brighton is a peace messenger city. EDO is an obscenity that must be removed from Brighton and the directors of this foul company ought to be tried for war crimes by the International Criminal Court,” Marsh said. ----------------------------- Palestine Solidarity Campaign Press Release – Mon, Jul 5, 2010 Acquittal of EDO activists is a victory for Palestinian rights Palestine Solidarity Campaign welcomes jury’s decision The acquittal of all seven activists charged with conspiring to cause criminal damage to an arms factory supplying components to Israel has been welcomed by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). Sarah Colborne, director of campaigns and operations at PSC, said: ‘These activists argued that they acted to stop Israel committing war crimes during Operation Cast Lead last year. ‘Having been presented with the evidence of Israel’s atrocities during that period, when 1,400 Palestinians were killed in three weeks and more than 5,000 injured, the jury had no option but to agree with them. ‘This result is a victory, not only for the seven protestors, but for the people of Gaza and of all Palestine who have suffered decades of brutal Israeli occupation. It sends out the message that it is not a crime to stand up for the human rights of Palestinians, and we hope that it will encourage more people across Britain to stand up and make their voices heard.’ PSC is participating in a global day of boycott action on 9 July, called by Palestinian civil society. Ms Colborne said: ‘There is a growing movement to boycott Israeli goods, with civil society across the world sending a clear message that they will no longer economically aid Israel`s violations of international law and its war crimes. A boycott campaign was hugely effective in bringing about change in apartheid South Africa, and it can work in the struggle for justice for Palestine.’ Media contact: Sarah Colborne, director of campaigns and operations, PSC E: sarah.colborne@palestinecampaign.org T: 020 7700 6192 Notes to Editors The factory, owned by EDO MBM, is on the outskirts of Brighton. It was attacked towards the end of Operation Cast Lead in January 2009. On Friday 2 July, Chris Osmond and Elijah Smith were cleared of conspiring to cause criminal damage at the factory. The other defendants – Tom Woodhead, Bob Nicholls, Ornella Saibene, Harvey Tadman, and Simon Levin – were acquitted on 30 June. Summing up, Judge George Bathurst-Norman told the jury: ‘You may well think that hell on earth would not be an understatement of what the Gazans suffered in that time.’ For more information on the global day of boycott action www.palestinecampaign.org ===================================== The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) aims to raise public awareness about the occupation of Palestine and the struggle of the Palestinian people. PSC seek to bring pressure on both the British and Israeli government to bring their policies in line with international law. PSC is an independent, non-governmental and non-party political organisation with members from communities across the UK . Join PSC today! Palestine Solidarity Campaign Box BM PSA London WC1N 3XX Tel: 020 7700 6192 Fax: 020 7609 7779 Email: info@palestinecampaign.org Web: www.palestinecampaign.org bz Links to the latest articles in this section Refusing the war! Demonstration today, Thur. Apris 24, at 7.30 pm, Habima Square, Tel Aviv Refusing the war! Demonstration today, Thur. Apris 24, at 7.30 pm, Habima Square, Tel Aviv Saturday night protests: No to Netanyahu`s war!