| CALL
FOR INFORMATION: Were you there? If you have information
or photographs about the behaviour of the police please call us as soon
as possible so we can collate evidence. You can also call us if you need
support in any other way or to get lost property.
Again, well
done, thank you and ... see you again!
PICTURES:
Click on
the pictures to enlarge. Do you have pictures? If so, please send them
to us and we'll put them up on the site. For more images, see the Indymedia
page
FIRST
VICTORY IN COURT
Today 8 of the 10 arrested and charged at the Menwith Hill Block the Base
demo on Friday 19th March appeared in Harrogate magistrates court for
an intial hearing (the other two, from Newscastle, did not attend but
wrote letters explaining their reasons, which as yet we've not seen).
All were charged with obstruction of a public highway and one was additionally
charged with criminal damage (for turning a police banket offered to him
in to a poncho to stop him from catching hypothermia). The prosecutor
agreed to offer the option of accepting a caution to the Menwith 8 and
the hearing has been postponed for 7 weeks for them to make up their minds
and take the option if they choose to.
Seven of the eight arrested had bail conditions apllied demanding that
they should not go within 100 metres of the base. The prosecution offered
to reduce the conditions to 15 metres but that would still not have allowed
the Menwith 8 to go to demos at the base and so, keen to break precedent
and try to set a new precent for future actions, the 8 decided to challenge
those bail conditions. Thanks to the challenge and a well presented argument
from their solicitor, the bail conditions were completely dropped, meaning
all could visit the base to demonstrate at any time. To celebrate, we
did just that and all headed up to Menwith Hill to have our photo taken
at the main gate for a local paper and make our voices heard once more.
If any of the eight choose to take their case through the courts then
the next hearing will be at Harrogate Magistrates court on Thursday May
13th, should you wish to come along and support.
All eight, Yorkshire CND and others that were at the demo but were not
charged are currently also considering making formal complaints to the
police for excessive force, wrongful arrest and poor treatement, so watch
this space!
To find out more
about why the reasons for the action, look at the Menwith
Hill Site.
and
supported by Campaign for
Nuclear Disarmament, Trident
Ploughshares and Campaign
for the Accountability of American Base
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