: ----- Original Message -----
: From: <iww-news@iww.org>
: Sent: Thursday, 29 July 1999 05:42
: Subject: brit eco-activists found in contempt of court
: > INDEPENDENT (London) July 29
: >
: >
: > By CHARLES ARTHUR TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
: >
: > FOUR ECO-ACTIVISTS who tore up genetically modified crops at a
: > demonstration site were yesterday judged in contempt of court, in a
: > decision which could have dramatic repercussions for protest groups in the
: > future.
: >
: > Yesterday in the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Mr Justice Burton
: > decided that four people who had taken part in a protest on 16 June had
: > broken an injunction taken out last year against Genetix Snowball, an
: > eco-activist group formed last year in the Manchester area, by the
: > American biotechnology company Monsanto. None of those found guilty
: > yesterday were named in the injunction. However the injunction describes a
: > member of the group as "those who actively support that organisation or
: > campaign on that organisation's behalf".
: >
: > Before the protest only one of the defendants, Martin Shaw, had heard of
: > the injunction, which names six people and "members of Genetix Snowball".
: > The court heard thatShaw thought the injunction did not apply to him,
: > though he felt it was "a legal grey area".
: >
: > The three other defendants only heard of the injunction the night before
: > their protest, when Shaw mentioned it to them when passing out copies of a
: > handbook written by Genetix Snowball detailing how to protest against GM
: > crops, which also mentions the injunction.
: >
: > But the court ruled that Shaw, 34, should have taken further steps to find
: > out if he was covered by the injunction - and that he was. The other
: > defendants - Jill Bee, 52, an art teacher, Alex Potts, 21, a trainee
: > teacher, and Rod Melia, 30, a gardener, were judged also to have broken
: > the injunction, though not so seriously as Shaw. They had uprooted GM
: > sugar beet on a plot of land near Royston in Hertfordshire,
: >
: > The ruling effectively means that anyone encouraged by people allied with
: > Genetix Snowball to tear up crops could be judged to have breached the
: > injunction. Furthermore, as the case is civil, not criminal, it is heard
: > by a judge rather than a jury and because it involves contempt of court,
: > breaking the injunction carries a penalty of up to two years in jail.
: >
: > Biotechnology companies can thus prevent named groups and members from
: > tearing up GM crops, effectively limiting their protest to indirect
: > action.
: >
: > Sarah Burton, the campaigns director at Greenpeace - which is not linked
: > to Genetix Snowball - said: "We have had a lot of injunctions against us
: > from various organisations. It limits the action we can take, but has
: > never stopped us campaigning effectively."
: >
: > Yesterday Mr Justice Burton sentenced Shaw to a month in prison, suspended
: > for one year, for breaking the injunction.Shaw condemned the ruling
: > afterwards as "the privatisation of the legal system". Both Monsanto and
: > AgrEvo, which is carrying out farm-scale trials of GM products, have taken
: > out similar injunctions.
: >
: > The judge imposed no sentence on the other protesters but ruled that their
: > names should be added to those on the original injunction. He said, "When
: > certain court orders are made, they must be obeyed. The defendants were in
: > plain breach of a court order."
: >
: > Lord Melchett, the executive director of Greenpeace, was yesterday granted
: > conditional bail having earlier been refused it when he appeared before a
: > stipendiary magistrate in Norwich, accused with 27 others over an attack
: > on a genetically modified crop trial at Lyng, near Dereham in Norfolk.
: >
: > Judge David Mellor granted bail after an application in chambers at
: > Norwich Crown Court which lasted for just over half an hour.
: >
: > After the chambers hearing, Lord Melchett's QC, Owen Davies, said one of
: > the conditions was that Lord Melchett must not trespass on or uproot GM
: > crops.
: >
: > =================================