A-FENCE-IS WEAPON

After nearly two years of stressful legal wranglings, five Smash EDO activists are facing possible imprisonment for allegedly shaking a crowd barrier at the Carnival Against the Arms Trade in June 2008 in Brighton.

Some of them were seriously assaulted by police during the demo, and then suffered multiple arrests, house searches and changes of charges.

Their ‘grievous crimes’ have been investigated by a highly motivated team of detectives from Sussex Police’s Major Crime Unit. Their case is constructed from hundreds of evidence exhibits and police witness statements by the Crown’s Complex Prosecutions Department, at an estimated cost of over a million quid.

Sinister political police spy and professional wrong ‘un Sean McDonald seems to have finally lost the plot, producing pages of obscure drivel detailing how he has been following certain activists around for the past five years.

The three-week trial, during which we presume every split-second of the alleged fence-shaking will be exhaustively examined, begins at Brighton Magistrates’ Court, on 16th March.

All five are on trial under Section 4 for ‘fear or provocation of violence’ along with some more minor offences. The original Section 2 ‘violent disorder’ charges were dropped as they may have led to a jury trial where acquittals are more common The defendants have appealed for support at the trial.

*Smash EDO are holding a picket at Barclays Bank on North Street at 12pm on March 17th to mark the seventh anniversary of the Iraq war – Barclays are ITT’s market maker and the largest UK investor in the arms trade.

There will also be a ‘Horrors of War’ noise demo at the EDO’s factory from 3pm-6pm. Bring noise-making equipment, bloody clothes, coffins.

*See www.smashedo.org.uk