Anti-War Activists Lose in House of Lords & Other Anti-War Updates

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Thursday March 30, 2006 05:26

by Ploughshares

They're on Trial for Us, We're on the Loose for Them!

Phil Pritchard & Toby Olditch had their appeal turned down in the House of Lords. Appeal matters arose out of their initial pre-trial hearing. Phil & Toby, who attended the trial of the Pit Stop Ploughshares last March in Dublin, acted to stop U.S. B-52 bombardment of Iraq from RAF Fairford. B52's dropped napalm, cluster bombs & fuel air explosives over Iraq.

Lord Bingham with four other Lords turned down the appeal of 20 peace campaigners today. The campaigners had argued that when they acted to prevent the war in Iraq by stopping USAF B-52 bombers leaving RAF Fairford in 2003 they were acting to prevent a 'crime of aggression'. The Lords ruling will prevent five campaigners presenting this as a defence at trial later this year.

One of the campaigners, Philip Pritchard (who acted with Toby Olditch) from Oxford said:

"The Lords' ruling does not state that the Iraq war is legal. It simply gags campaigners who took direct action to oppose it.

"Considering the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has stated that the war was illegal we feel we should at least be able to tell a jury why we believed it was too.

"We are disappointed but not surprised that the Law Lords have failed to make a stand for peace. The horror in Iraq continues and it seems that the Lords were swayed by politics rather than justice."

Three others are also awaiting trial at Bristol Crown court for their actions at RAF Fairford in 2003.

For further information call Toby on 07971 406180

or see www.b52two.org for background to the case.