Trial of Plowshares Activist for disarming nuclear capable F16's begins in the Netherlands.

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Saturday September 03, 2005 13:18

by Susan - Plowshares

Netherlands

He's in Jail for Us, We're on the Streets for Him!

Turi Vaccoro has maintained a hunger strike in custody since August 10th

He appeared in court Sept 1st. charged with several €million disarmament of nuclear capable F16's. Nuclear bombs are kept on the base where he acted on the 60th. anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

Turi from Italy has lived in the Netherlands for many years, he bought his hammer in Assissi.

The courtcase against Turi Vaccaro did not reach a verdict last
thursday. The judge was accused twice by the defence of being
prejudicest in favor of the prosecution.
The seciond accusation will be dealt with in court next week. Turi, who
did not speak, let the audiance of about 25 people know that he was
doing well.

Turi had to apear before the policejudge because off the disarming of
two F-16 airplaines at airforcebase Woensdrecht in the Netherlands on
August the tenth. His action has made it impossible to use these planes
to drop nuclear weapons (like the ones lying in Volkel in the
Netherlands). The estimated costs for restoring this ability are
5.000.000 euro's.

Turi's lawyers (Eric Hummels, quaker, and Meindert Stelling, former
airforce officer)Started the courtcase by stating that the charges of
the prosecution should be found unexceptable because they had not taken
the context of the action in consideration.

As an example he said if witnesses see someone cut another mans throat
that last person could be sued for murder if the context is not
considered. If however the defender gets the oppertunity to explain
that he was doing a live saving trachiometry ( making a hole in a
suffocating persons throat in order to make him breath) the charges
would have to be dropped.

By disarming F-16 airplanes serious crimes against international
justice were prevented. By doing so Turi preformed the duty each of us
have to prevent such crimes.
Because the prosecution did not consider the fact that the Dutch
government is involved in commiting crimes against international law
through having nuclear weapons in its country and training Dutch pilots
to use them the charges should be found unreasonable and be dropped.

The prosecution did not want to answer this statement and simply said
that international law did not have a place in this (lower) court.
Turi's lawyers demanded the judge would force the prosecution to give a
better answer than that and when the judge refused he was then called
a "wraking", a Dutch legal term for accusing the judge of being
partial.

After this 3 other judges were called together to see if the defence
had a valid point here. They did not think so and after some more delay
the case was restarted.

Now the defence asked the judge to put in writing his reason for not
accepting the complaints of the defence. The judge refused to do so and
said he did not want to talk about the complaint at all any more.

At this point the defence lawyer again called a "wraking". This will
again be tested by three other judges somewhere next week.

Turi was brought back to prison in Breda.

Write him!

Turi Vaccaro
HvB de Boschpoort
Nassausingel 26
4811 DG Breda
the Netherlands

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Comments (4 of 4)

Further solidarity report from inside and outside the court.

Sat Sep 03, 2005 13:24

Last Thursday I went to Breda to see Turi'in court. About 30 people
turned up and together we decorated the courtbuilding and the pavement.
Two people dressed up as bombs and tried to cross a 5 meter long soapy
piece of plastic. The symbolics of wich I do not quite understand, but
it was fun to watch.

About 15 policepeople turned up as well and together we were quite a
crowd. Roles were well divided and all knew what to do. The police
searched everyone thoroughly, and also kept all our belongings safe.
The suporters enthousiasticly let them selves be searched each time
they entered the building. ("Lets get some fresh air." "Oh, yeah, then
we can get searched again!")

We could wath the courtcase from a balcony through a glass window.
Sound was profided by microphones, there was a bathroom, and friendly
officers who turned the sound up or asked people below to get closer to
the microphones when we could not hear anything.

When Turi first came in he did not look up, but slowly he loosened and
started to be his own self. He was wearing a long black coat, like you
would see on a master of ceremony in a circus, and a pictur on a string
around his neck wich showed a multicoloured peace flag next to a
windmill.

Turi did not speak but communicated with his lawyers in writing. He had
a Dutch/Italian translator, whom he asked not to translate everything
but only when he did not understand something.

Turi had to go in and out of the courtroom several times during the
day. The first time he lost a bit of paper on the way out and wanted to
go back to get it. The guards did not want him too and started pushing
him. After the fourth push Turi stoped cooperating entierly and kept
his body stiff so that with the next push he fell down on the ground
and the guards had to carry him out of the room.

After this he entered the courtroom each time by getting on his knees
and kissing the floor before taking a seat.

Although he did not speak Turi communicated plenty. He drew pictures
and signed to us that he did not recieve the stampes some people had
send, that he was still fasting but did drink a lot and that he thought
we looked a lot like fish in a fishtank behind that window. He also
started singing and was soon joined by the audiance.

The judge wasn't too sure how to deal with all this and ignored Turi's
behaviour. Instead he chose to threathen the audiance with removing us.

When the day was over we waited to wave goodbye to Turi as he was
brought back to prison and then we all went home.

Susan

LINK-Further background on Turi's disarmament action

by Mother Earth - For Mother Earth

Sat Sep 03, 2005 13:40

http://www.motherearth.org/prisoner/turi.php

Solidarity from Ireland

by Mary Kelly

Mon Sep 05, 2005 14:45

thanks for this posting and account of his brave action and dignified court appearance. Please keep us updated.
Well done!

Update

by Dave - For Mother Earth

Thu Sep 08, 2005 13:03

Dear Friends,
On 1st September, Turi Vaccaro was in court in Breda, accused of doing
5,000,000 Euro of damage to 2 nuclear capable F16s at Woensdrecht Airforce
base in the Netherlands. A report of the trial is included below.

The second "wraking" (a procedure where the judge is accused of being
prejudiced), was held on Wednesday this week, but was rejected.
The disturbing decision was also made that this "wraking" procedure can
not be used again by the defence in this case.

The trial will continue at 1:30pm on Thursday 13th October, in the court
in Breda, Netherlands.

If you can't make it to the trial, please write to Turi:

Turi Vaccaro
HvB de Boschpoort
Nassausingel 26
4811 DG Breda
the Netherlands

Check out:
http://www.motherearth.org/prisoner/turi.php
for more updates and news of the trial.

in peace,
david

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Trial of Plowshares Activist for disarming nuclear capable F16's begins in the Netherlands.

Comments (4 of 4)