Anti-war protesters found not guilty of damaging US war plane

[ise]

Anti-war protesters found not guilty of damaging US war plane
25/07/2006 - 12:07:22

Five anti-war protesters have been found not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of criminally damaging a US aeroplane at Shannon Airport more than three years ago. The jury of five men and seven women took four and a half hours to reach its unanimous decision on day 12 of the trial which had been continuously attended by supporters of the activists. It was the third attempt at trying the five who pleaded not guilty to two counts each of causing damage without lawful excuse to a naval plane, property of the United States government and to glass door panels, property of Aer Rianta at Shannon Airport, Clare on February 3, 2003. Juries in two earlier trials were discharged before evidence had concluded following suggestions from the defence teams that the presiding judges were, or could have been perceived to have been, biased. The accused at all stages accepted that they had gone into a Shannon Airport hangar with hammers and damaged the aircraft. They argued that they had a lawful excuse for doing so as they honestly believed they were acting to protect lives and property in Iraq.

Certainly in this case it was lawful to smash a UNITED STATE's WARPLAIN to save lives in Iraq. Wonder about the next time!

First in the States was ...

Irish jury acquits 5 who attacked U.S. Navy plane with hammers, ax
Posted on Tue, Jul. 25, 2006
SHAWN POGATCHNIK
Associated Press

The attack came while the U.S. Navy Boeing 737 awaited repairs from a similar ax attack during an earlier protest. The five defended their actions, contending that they thought they could save lives in Iraq by vandalizing the plane. After a 12-day trial in Dublin, a jury of seven women and five men accepted the protesters' argument and found them not guilty on two counts each of "causing damage without lawful excuse." If convicted, they could have faced punishments ranging from cash penalties to a maximum 10-year prison sentence.

They said it suffered about $2.5 million in damage as a result of both attacks. The five protesters vowed to keep defending Ireland's official neutrality, a policy they say is undermined by permitting U.S. troops to use Shannon.

"Neutrality should be kept. It's really precious. They're making moves to get rid of Irish neutrality, and the Irish people are saying no," said Fallon, who is Scottish. "Every life without exception has something sacred in it. That means every life in Iraq," said Dunlop, an American citizen living in Dublin. "If people knew this to be true, there would be no war." The eldest protester, O'Reilly, is an Australian national. Only Clancy and Moran are Irish natives.

Multi cultural protesters.

[PatrickHenry]

$2.5 million in damage from AXES? That's some leverage...


Where is that ax? I know I had somewhere around here....

[ise]

Taoiseach=Irish Prime Minister

Taoiseach outspoken on Israeli onslaught
Saturday, August 05, 2006 ..by Noel Whelan

The Taoiseach seldom issues formal press releases.

Recently, however, the Taoiseach has made two short but significant statements on a foreign policy issue. Both of them were strong condemnations of Israel's actions. The first, published on July 26th, condemned the killing of four UN observers in southern Lebanon. The Taoiseach spoke of how he was appalled by the deaths and went on to strongly condemn the continuing use by Israel of what he described as "reckless and disproportionate force" in Lebanon. The statement also condemned Hizbullah for its attacks on Israel and repeated the call for an immediate ceasefire. The second press statement was published last Sunday. It said how "shocked and appalled" the Taoiseach was at the news of the heavy loss of life in the Israeli air strike on the village of Qana.

He was uncharacteristically straight-talking in those condemnations. The statements were short but the words were strong.

Irish foreign policy on the Middle East has been more even-handed than many other European nations. We have no colonial history or strategic interest in the region, and we have shown a particular empathy for the position in which the Palestinians find themselves.

The summoning of the Israeli ambassador to meet our Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence to hear our disapproval at the bombing of the United Nations monitoring post may mark a low point in Irish-Israeli relations.

[Trotsky]

Quote by: ise Taoiseach=Irish Prime Minister Taoiseach outspoken on Israeli onslaught Saturday, August 05, 2006 ..by Noel Whelan He was uncharacteristically straight-talking in those condemnations. The statements were short but the words were strong.

Yeah, the Israeli ambassador has condemned Bertie's "unhelpful" comments! For once Bertie gets his arse off the fence............almost makes me proud.