RAF Base Saboteurs Lose Court Case

[Kwackerz]

Amazing. Check their professions.. A university lecturer and an ex-magistrate. So now you know where your taxes go.. on defending RAF bases against attacks from people who should really know better.... All they had to do was play loud music by the Pilots' quarters so they got no sleep. No sleep = No flying= No bombing raid.

Two anti-war protesters who broke into RAF Fairford in the build-up to the invasion of Iraq were found guilty yesterday of causing criminal damage to American vehicles at the base.

Margaret Jones and Paul Milling used hammers and bolt cutters to disable fuel tankers and trailers used for carrying bombs at the airfield in Gloucestershire on March 13 2003. They said they had been trying to save the lives of civilians by attempting to stop American B-52s from taking off on bombing missions over Iraq.

Jones, 57, a university lecturer from Bristol, and Milling, 61, from Ambleside in Cumbria, who is a former York magistrate and councillor, denied conspiring to cause criminal damage to property, saying their actions were an attempt to prevent the "murder of innocent civilians".

"If we can help to prevent the murder of one civilian by what we have done at Fairford tonight, then the action will have been worthwhile," they said at the time.

In a unanimous verdict, a jury at Bristol crown court found them guilty after three hours of deliberations. Milling was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 costs, while Jones's sentencing was adjourned until July 27.

The pair argued they had tried to obstruct the bombers because they were en route to kill thousands of Iraqi civilians and destroy the country's infrastructure.

They did £10,000 worth of damage when they broke instrument panels on three tankers and cut the brake cables of 15 bomb-carrying trailers. They admitting doing it but argued they had acted lawfully by trying to prevent serious war crimes being committed by the US.

The convictions are the first the crown has secured against any of the "Fairford five". There have been six trials, two of which ended with hung juries.

Toby Olditch and Philip Pritchard, who also broke into the base and clogged American B-52 engines with nuts and bolts, were acquitted by a Bristol jury in May after they argued they had been trying to prevent war crimes. Last month, Josh Richards was cleared after a jury failed to reach a verdict for the second time.

Jones and Milling told the jury they had read about the planned "shock and awe" air strikes on Baghdad and took action "in an attempt to hinder the murder of innocent civilians". The prosecution accepted the pair acted on "honestly held beliefs" but said they had nevertheless broken the law.

Their trial followed a three-year battle by the protesters to be allowed to challenge the legality of the war as part of their defence. The appeal court said they could argue they had acted to prevent war crimes but could not contest the legality of the invasion.

[Samray]

"Causing criminal damage". Shoulda been charged with treason ! What's the penalty for that these days?

[Aladinsaneuk]

I believe that treason still carries the death penalty :)

[Kwackerz]

[woody]

I believe that treason still carries the death penalty :)

Only in a time of war I believe...........

[woody]

or to put it another way, I beleive it's only in a time of war.....

[Aladinsaneuk]

does the War on Terror count enough??

(A bullshit weasal phrase if ever there was one)