Judges' refusal to release Attorney-General's full advice means trial was 'unfair'
Fourteen Greenpeace volunteers who sought the Attorney-General's full advice on the Iraq war today vowed to appeal after a court convicted them on charges of aggravated trespass and criminal damage.
The volunteers occupied tanks at Marchwood military base in the run-up to war in Iraq. Defence lawyers claimed the Attorney's advice could show that the Government thought war was illegal when the protest took place. But District Judge John Woollard ruled the advice should be kept secret, and that a former Foreign Office official who was prepared to give evidence should not be summoned to court. Today he found the fourteen guilty on all charges.
One of the defendants, Graham Thompson, said: "Over the past year we've seen chaos in Iraq, an increased threat of terror, no banned weapons and a host of evidence that Blair was either negligent or lying, yet it's the protesters who have been punished. The top people in this country got it seriously wrong on Iraq, but not a single person has lost their job or faced charges. The guilty people are Tony Blair and Jack Straw."
Rabinder Singh QC had argued that the defendants acted out of necessity - that is to say they were trying to prevent a greater crime occurring. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case against GCHQ whistleblower Katherine Gun because they 'could not disprove' this defence. Ms Gun's trial was due to be heard in front of a jury, while the Greenpeace volunteers faced a District Judge. The Judge had earlier refused to order a witness summons against former senior civil servant Elizabeth Wilmhurst, despite indications that she would not resist a summons. As former Deputy Legal Advisor at the Foreign Office she was in a position to reveal how the Government viewed the legality of the war when the protest took place.
Grounds for appeal are thought to include the Judge's decision that the prosecution did not have to proove the lawfulness of action in relation to crime against peace or crimes under the International Criminal Courts Act.
Graham Thompson continued: "Our lawyers say we've got solid grounds for appeal. While the truth behind the build up to war remained secret we couldn't get a fair trial. But Mr Blair should expect us back in a higher court, seeking the documents that could over-turn this conviction. This isn't going to go away, we won't let it."
Notes
The fourteen defendants entered the port and occupied tanks queued up to leave on the roll-on/roll-off ferry Stena Shipper. This was just one element of a week of actions at Marchwood, aimed at trying to stop the build up to war against Iraq. This included repeatedly blockading the port with the Greenpeace ship the Rainbow Warrior to prevent loaded military vessels departing and volunteers attaching themselves to fully loaded military supply vessels to prevent them moving. The protests only ended after the Rainbow Warrior was stormed by military police who then cut her anchor chain and towed her away. Rainbow Warrior Captain, Argentinean Daniel Rizotti still faces charges for anchoring the Rainbow Warrior in the fairway.
The defendants are: Oliver Knowles of London; Ashby Smith of Washington DC, USA; Laura Yates of London; Natalie Duck of London; Graham Thompson of Romford, Essex; Helen Wallace of Buxton, Derbyshire; Janice Harron of London; Jim Footner of Shropshire; Rachel Murray of Glasgow; Richard Watson of Burnley; Robin Oakley of Lancashire; Belinda Fletcher of Oxford; Ben Ayliffe of London; Jens Loewe of Germany.
Sentences ranged from conditional discharge to
