British Jury Agrees: Anti-Iraq-War Actions Aren't Criminal...

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Remember that quaint old custom of 'keeping the faith' with Habeas Corpus?

Well, it fills us full of immense pride and enormous pleasure to be able to report today that rumours of said custom's demise may have been greatly ever so slightly, exaggerated.



Witness this carefully considered and duly delivered verdict of 12 true-Brit jurists in a case brought against a couple of fellow countrymen (with consciences), accused of causing criminal damage to American bomber/war planes sited on our sovereign soil.

In case this is still news to you, here's a bit of 'background'.

... Protesters Toby Olditch, 38, and Philip Pritchard, 36, used bolt cutters to enter RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

They had intended to clog the planes' engines with nuts and bolts when they were arrested by Ministry of Defence police.

The men pleaded not guilty at Bristol crown court to conspiring to cause criminal damage, claiming the B52s would have been used to commit war crimes in Iraq.

Now behold the bottom line.

Two anti-war campaigners who broke into an airbase to sabotage US bombers at the outbreak of the Iraq war have been cleared of all charges.

Read the rest of this report at the Guardian.

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