15 UK Activist face LIFE for blocking migrant plane take-off

[laserhaas]

Link to tweet

.

According to the Guardian -

The 15 Activist were convicted of terrorism

https://theintercept.com/2018/12/11/stansted-15-trial-verdict/

Whereas -

THE GUILTY VERDICT arrived around lunchtime on December 10 — Human Rights Day, which this year marked the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It signaled the end of a nine-week trial and three days of jury deliberations in Chelmsford Crown Court, about 30 miles northeast of London. More than a year and a half after the 15 defendants had locked themselves around a deportation charter flight at London’s Stansted Airport, successfully stopping it from taking off, the defendants were convicted of intentional disruption of services at an aerodrome, a terrorism-related offense with a potential life sentence.

Known as the Stansted 15, the defendants had all pleaded not guilty to the charge, which falls under the United Kingdom’s Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990, an obscure law intended to fight terrorism. The activists were originally charged with aggravated trespass, but that charge was later upgraded to intentional disruption of services at an aerodrome — under the “endangering safety at an aerodrome” section of the act — and seen by many as a disproportionate response to peaceful protest. Now, the guilty verdict has sent a chilling message to those who may wish to follow in the Stansted 15’s footsteps. Amnesty International, which had been observing the trial, tweeted, “The rights and freedoms of all of us are being eroded. The UK should not be targeting human rights defenders in this way.”

In a statement released minutes after the verdict was announced, the defendants wrote, “We are guilty of nothing more than intervening to prevent harm. The real crime is the government’s cowardly, inhumane and barely legal deportation flights and the unprecedented use of terror law to crack down on peaceful protest. We must challenge this shocking use of draconian legislation, and continue to demand an immediate end to these secretive deportation charter flights and a full independent public inquiry into the government’s ‘hostile environment’.”

The Crown Prosecution Service published a press release about the verdict, outlining the disruption to airport operations, such as delayed and rerouted flights, caused by the Stansted 15’s action. Judith Reed, a deputy chief crown prosecutor, stated, “The [Crown Prosecution Service] worked with the police to build a strong case which reflected the criminality of the defendant’s actions, regardless of their motivation.” Tony Badenoch, who represented the prosecution in court, declined to comment.

2 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Was this activism, a step too far?
	0 (0%)
	Yes
	0 (0%)
	No
	1 (50%)
	Maybe
	1 (50%)
	Who cares
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Takket]

1. this is a human rights violation. the UK should be hauled before the world court over this

and they can get in line behind drumpf

[UniteFightBack]

2. The punishment does not fit the crime. Life imprisonment? Absurd. nt

[Jarqui]

3. I voted "Maybe" but probably "no"

I do not care to conclude too much on one article.
I don't have time to research it heavily.
"nine-week trial and three days of jury deliberations" gives me some pause that there may be more to the story ...

[pecosbob]

4. Father Carl from Swords into Plowshares did seventeen years in prison I think

for his non-violent protests of nuclear weapons...it's a twisted world we live in.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. Morally, it's not terrorism. I am grateful there are people who do what I have not, which is to

protest these actions so forcefully they face life in prison. I bow to them.

[laserhaas]

6. I worry for them

Shheesshh