The public is clearly uncomfortable with jailing peaceniks for trying to stop weapons supplies to a genocidal regime

~ Andy Meinke ~

Woolwich Crown Court is a grim place even if you’re not on trial. No history like the Old Bailey or even a duck pond like Snaresbrook. Just a concrete block on land reclaimed from the marshes, which you have to walk past two prisons to reach and is connected by a tunnel to a third, so those sentenced can’t be rescued from the Serco van by their terrorist accomplices. Small chance of that from the peace campaigners and human rights activists gathered outside yesterday — so all hopes rested with the jury.

And Glory Hallelujah did they deliver! Despite being caught red handed with actual paint and on camera smashing up an arms factory with sledgehammers, the twelve good and true found all six activists not guilty of Aggravated Burglary, three not guilty of Violent Disorder, and were unable to reach a majority of at least 9 to 3 on three remaining charges of Violent Disorder, six of Criminal Damage and one of inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent.  Sadly we anticipate the Crown Prosecution Service, pushed by the Government, will put them all through a retrial. But five of the six have been granted bail, a decision rather forced on Mr Justice Johnson because they’ve served more time in jail than he could give them without ripping up the sentencing guidelines. Sam Corner remains inside as the offence under section 18 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 carries a maximum life sentence.

Juries do not give reasons for their verdicts and are not allowed to reveal their deliberations. Nor is anyone allowed to carry out any form of research on actual jury decisions, so we cannot tell why they came to these conclusions. But we can guess pretty good, can’t we kids! With due respect to the forensic oratory of the team of barristers from Garden Court Chambers and thorough research by solicitors from Irvine Thavis Natas (ITN), the obvious truth is the great British public is clearly uncomfortable with jailing peaceniks for trying to stop weapons supplies to genocidal regimes. We shouldn’t get carried away, this is a London jury, I wouldn’t have fancied their chances in Canterbury or Stafford where other anti Elbit cases are due. But by making a spurious ‘terrorist connection’ the trial had to be held at the Bailey or Woolwich — and they didn’t choose Woolwich for the greater security.

While we’re showing some objectivity: These defendants would still have got a jury trial under the current Levison/Lammy proposals to restrict peoples’ right to chose one. While not firmed up, the suggestion is that only cases with a prospective sentence of three years or more would entitle you to choose a Jury. Aggravated Burglary has a life maximum. In this case where it’s clearly ‘high harm’ and ‘high culpability’, the sentencing guidelines give a starting point of 10 years with a range of 9 to 13 after a contested trial.

There are 18 people awaiting three further trials for the same incident, due between April and September. Their lawyers will be scrambling to Court to make bail applications in the aftermath of yesterdays’ verdicts (or failure to reach them). Trial 4 has a preliminary hearing on Friday. There are also the people awaiting trial for pouring paint in plane engines at RAF Brize Norton. Even those advocating resurgent British militarism may consider it cheaper to pay a sentry to guard the Nations’ hardware than to prosecute the scooter-born menace trying to graff it. To misquote Lloyd George, “A fully equipped Judge costs twice as much as a Dreadnought and is nearly as terrible”.

It’s a lot to expect more miracles in quick succession, but in a year already filled with horrible shocks we can take hope that we may be seeing the start of a sea change in public opinion, not unlike that towards South Africa in the 1980’s, which will make the British state’s support for the overtly racist Israeli regime untenable.