Greenpeace activists arrested for removing GM crop
In April 2000, 28 Greenpeace volunteers were put on trial in Norwich Crown Court on charges of theft and criminal damage. The charges arose from an incident in July, 1999, when the volunteers entered a field of GM maize in Lyng, Norfolk, and attempted to cut down the crop and seal it in bags. The trial in Norwich lasted almost three weeks and resulted in all of the volunteers being acquitted of theft whilst the jury could not reach a verdict over the charge of criminal damage.
Since the trial, the Crown Prosecution Service has decided to seek a retrial and the 28 volunteers will again be appearing in Norwich Crown Court on a charge of criminal damage. The retrial will begin on 4 September and is estimated to last approximately two weeks.
At the retrial all 28 defendants will again plead not guilty to the charges of criminal damage. During the course of the trial they will argue that in entering the field, uprooting the GM crops and attempting to seal them in bags, they were acting to prevent serious damage to other property and the environment.
Experts have agreed to give evidence on issues such as the limits of what the GM 'farm scale trials' actually look at, genetic pollution from pollen and the transfer of pollen by bees and how this may result in genetically modified honey. Evidence will also be presented about the growing demand for organic produce in the UK and how the release of GM pollen into the countryside could devastate the livelihoods of organic farmers in the UK.
