B52 Disarmers Go to Trial in Bristol Crown Courts & Other Anti-War Resistance

by Solidarity Sun Jul 01, 2007 13:13 Arizona, USA

On Nov 19th while others took action at the School of the Americas
www.soaw.org two Catholic priests were arrested at an Arizona
military base where U.S. forces are trained in torture techniques.

Fr. Louis Viatalie is a former provincial of the Franciscan order and
long time resister at the Nevada Nuclear Test site. Jesuit Fr. Steve Kelly
is a vetearn of several plowshares actions www.plowsharesactions.org

Frs. Kelly and Vitale's pre-trial
motions hearing on June 6 will be continued on August 13, and the
magistrate will also decide at that time whether they can have a jury
trial. No trial date has yet been set.

See the homepage of the
website, and scroll down to "About the Trial" for more information...
And also keep checking the website - http://tortureontrial.org/ - for
other updates, information and upcoming events.

by Justin Morahan Tue Jul 03, 2007 13:04

Solidarity and best wishes with your trial.

by DM - Labour party Tue Jul 03, 2007 19:37

.........

by Solidarity Wed Jul 04, 2007 15:07

Citizens Arrest of Attorney-General Philip Ruddock as
a War Criminal.

At 9 am today, as Philip Ruddock was about to address
a symposium on Law Liberty & the War on Terror, an
anti-war activist confronted Ruddock with a formal
Warrant, charging him with various war crimes. (see
Warrant below)
Peter McGregor, a retired academic from Newcastle, was
himself then arrested, & charged with disruption of
the symposium, & refusing to leave when asked.
McGregor also had criticized UNSW, the Law Faculty, &
all present, for welcoming such a war criminal.
"Ruddock’s abandoning of Habeas Corpus, as both
Minister for Immigration, & Attorney-General, should
make him a social pariah, & especially with academics
& those who believe in the rule of law & human rights.
In order for evil to triumph, it is enough for good
people to do nothing."

Contact: Peter McGregor - [email protected]
& 0408 283680 & 49293587
----------
Warrant for the Citizens Arrest of

John Howard, Alexander Downer, Philip Ruddock, &
Brendan Nelson:

John Howard, Prime Minister; Alexander Downer,
Minister for Foreign Affairs; Philip Ruddock,
Attorney-General; & Brendan Nelson, Minister for
Defence
are hereby charged, to be trial by the International
Criminal Court, with:

(1) Planning, preparing, initiation or waging a war of
aggression or a war in violation of international
treaties, agreements or assurances – VI (i) Nuremburg
Principles

(2) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for
accomplishment of the above – V (ii) Nuremburg
Principles

(3) Participating in the use of cluster bombs in
contravention of the AUSTRALIAN MINES CONVENTION ACT,
1998

(4) Participating in the use of weapons of mass
destruction in breach of the GENEVA Convention
including Fuel Air Explosives which cause death by
asphyxiation

(5) Conspiring to subvert the course of justice by
(i) abandoning habeas corpus both in the domestic
'anti-terror' laws & in international policy; & (ii)
covering up or defending the use of torture & over
breaches of the GENEVA Convention, the International
Covenant for Civil & Political Rights, & the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, against Australian – and
other - citizens, at Guantanamo Bay

(6) Failing in its duty to protect Australian citizens
overseas, & conspiring to continue the illegal
detention of Australian citizens without trial or
changes for over 5 years

(7) Demonizing and incarcerating asylum seekers under
the policies of mandatory detention and fortress
Australia. Such policies contravene the legal
principle of habeus corpus and have induced undue
suffering and mental illness for detainees.

Issued & authorized by Citizens against War Crimes
---

http://www.llwt.unsw.edu.au/

by Margaret Wed Jul 04, 2007 15:51

Margaret Monica emailed supporters to say, "For those interested in the ongoing saga, our lawyers put the arguments today for dropping our case. (There have been two re-trials now, of Phil & Toby and of Josh Richards, ending in acquittals. Our lawyers argued it would be 'oppressive' to continue with our re-trial, therefore. However, the judge didn't buy it - so on we go .... ."
"The prosecution gave most of its evidence today. Footage of damage to trucks, po narratives of the arrest ... . No great surprises. The pleasant-looking jury seemed mildly interested.

The Squadron Leader nominally in charge of RAF Fairford gave evidence today. and in response to cross-questioning, HE said some very interesting things:

1. As 'landlord' he may go wherever he pleases and inspect whatever he likes - except for the US Air Force clandestine command and control area, where he may not go. (This is a British RAF base, remember . )

2. Margaret Jones' barrister Hugo Charlton asked, what if the US were to bring in a nuclear weapon to Fairford ? Would the Squadron Leader be authorised to ban it ? THe SL said there would be nothing in law to prevent the US Air Force bringing in a nuclear weapon if they wanted to - though he did indicate it would be a matter of courtesy to consult the Brits first.

He also has no idea what kinds of munitions are kept on the base by the USAF, as he is 'not a munitions expert'.

3. The Squadron Leader said he is never given any indication of when the US planes on the base in times of war preparation will stop doing training flights and set of to do an actual bombing raid. Even ten minutes before, he wouldn't know.

These points are surely of more than local interest.

However that may be, we defendants start giving our evidence tomorrow. As always, we welcome seeing the friendly faces of observers and supporters. We start at the civilised hour of 10.30 from now on - with a vigil outside the court from about 9.45 onwards. Ornella has brought a dramatic and eye-catching banner, which apart from anything else makes an excellent gathering point.

The trial is being heard in Court No. 3. Come and stay for half an hour or so, if you can .... .

Best wishes -

Margaret Monica"

Best wishes to both of them!

by Military Resister - Courage to Resist Wed Jul 04, 2007 20:09

http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/317/1/

by Monica Fri Jul 06, 2007 15:34

"We'd be MOST grateful, therefore, if the usual suspects could gather outside the court on Friday afternoon from about 3.00 pm - bringing whatever banners and placards are available." Monica (aka Margaret)
Day Three of the trial was marked by Paul's encyclopedic documentation of governmental dodgy dossiers, threats and false claims before the invasion of Iraq.

It was a most impressive performance.

The prosecution's response (a) all the articles were from the Guardian (an anti-war paper); and (b) how did the defendants know the B-52 bombers at Fairford were not there to carry leaflets to Iraq ? This last suggestion was met with the derision it deserved from almost everyone in court - including the jury, from whom a distinct collective titter was heard. Prosecutors should get out more.

Helen Asea spoke powerfully about the desperate refugees she witnessed while in Baghdad on the day of our action at RAF Fairford, crowding the bus station in last-ditch efforts to flee the city before the bombing.

Tomorrow (Friday) - summing up by lawyers in both sides. So it's quite possible the jury will bring in a verdict on Friday. (Obviously we can't be absolutely certain about this - and there IS a (remote) possibility that the verdict will be held
over until Tuesday. Personally, I think this very unlikely. We know our jury by now !

We'd be MOST grateful, therefore, if the usual suspects could gather outside the court on Friday afternoon from about 3.00 pm - bringing whatever banners and placards are available.

Whatever the final outcome, we aim to end the six Fairford trials not with a whimper, but with a BANG.

For this your presence will be highly valued !

All best wishes -

Monica (aka Margaret)

by Ciaron O'Reilly - Catholic Worker Fri Jul 06, 2007 17:48

At the conclusion of this week's anti-war vigil at Enoggera, Carole shared about her witness and arrest at Operation Talisman Sabre. She returns to a Rockhampton court for a mention at the begining of August. Daniel shared about how he and his family were dropping a friend at the Brisbane airport a couple of weeks ago, when they spotted two U.S. warships docked at Hamilton. They drove to a newsagent bought some cardboard and marking pens and staged the only Brisbane protest to greet these U.S. warships. Sandy, Sr. Kay, Grace and I kept vigil with them today at Enoggera asking soldiers to refuse to deploy to Iraq.

Yesterday, the USS Kitty Hawk, and its 5,000 strong crew, employed extensively in the invasion & occupation of Iraq pulled into Sydney Harbour without any visiible protest. Prime Minister Howard saw the Kitty Hawk and accompanying photo opportunities as a worthy backdrop to set out his "all the way withe the USA" military policy for the forthcoming election. Meamwhile the Defence Minister suffered a Freudian slip and told us what we had told them for the last 4 years, that this war and Australian involvement in it is for Iraqi oil. Today has seen a cyclone of spin by the goverment trying to suppress this inconvenient truth

Another truth that was suppressed this past week was in response to the attempted terror attacks in London and Glasgow heightened by the detention under the anti-terrorism act of an Indian doctor in Brisbane. The simple truth denied by Blair after the July 7th. tube attacks two years ago and again this past week is.....that the war has come home! As Peter Ustinov succintly put it "Terrorism is the war of the poor, War is the terrorism of the rich!"

Of all the words written and uttered to explain why a group of doctors would be involved in such attacks, the war was the word that could not be spoken. The elephant in the room. It is only a first world arrogance to think that the Kitty Hawk and the arsenal we have assembled can visit terror, destruction of airports, hospitals, music venues and social infrastructure in Iraq and that somehow this we can remain immune. We are so shocked when the war becomes a two way street. We are so disengaged with this war that has no popular support but so rarely sees any visible opposition. We are so resigned that that the Kitty Hawk entered Brisbane and Sydney without dissent.

So what does one do in such times? One gathers in whatever community one can muster, prays, reflects and speaks out at the places of death. Enoggera is such a place and we will return there next Friday at 4pm-dusk. We end each vigil with a circle of silence for those who have died in Iraq this past week.

Vigil Photos

http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/node/51198

http://sydney.indymedia.org.au/node/51248#comment-69093

by anon Fri Jul 06, 2007 18:32

Two peace activists who broke into RAF Fairford and attacked US military vehicles have been found guilty of conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
Paul Milling, 61, from Cumbria, was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 in costs.

Dr Margaret Jones, 57, of Bristol, was told to return to Bristol Crown Court on 27 July for sentencing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/gloucestersh...4.stm

by Resistance Sat Jul 07, 2007 17:47

http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/view/325/1/