Judge declares the activists NOT GUILTY and rules 'no case to answer' as Elbit
failed to prove their activities were lawful. ---- This morning, three activistsappeared at Bristol Magistrates Court, Marlborough St, having been charged withaggravated trespass. The British state attempted to prosecute the trio inresponse to the successful occupation of Elbit System's Headquarters at the AztecWest (Almondsbury) site in Bristol in November 2021. ---- Three activists havewalked free from Bristol Magistrates Court, having been declared 'not guilty' bya judge who needed less than one day of a three day trial to rule that there was'no case to answer' to the charge of aggravated trespass, and the threedefendants, Lucky, Alfie, and Meg, have been discharged by District Judge MarkWattam. They gave a statement:Today we stood up to Elbit Systems in court, forcing this murderous company toreveal to the public authorities the extent to which it lies to the public aboutits lethal dealings. Elbit was so invested in maintaining the falsehood that itdoes not export weapons of mass murder to Israeli defence forces that it wasunable to marshal any convincing evidence, failing to answer questionseffectively and leaving the judge with no choice but to dismiss the case. Elbitis guilty, and we won't stop until their secrets are dredged to light and alltheir sites are shut down.Last November, on the anniversary of the signing of the Balfour declaration,through which Britain established the grounds for the violent occupation andethnic cleansing of Palestinian land, the three activists scaled the Bristol siteof Elbit Systems, at 600 Aztec West, Elbit's operations at the premises. Theseoperations, we now know, involve the export of military equipment direct from theBristol site to Israel.Despite a round-the-clock rapid response to the site by police, who also deployedpolice dogs, the roof of the site was occupied for a day, halting operations andmeaning Elbit could not resume its 'business of bloodshed'. Meanwhile the officeswere covered in blood-red paint, symbolically marking the site as responsible forspilling the blood of Palestinians through the brutal products Elbit manufactures.The activists were being prosecuted for under section 68 of the Criminal Justiceand Public Order Act 1994, for 'disrupting lawful activity'. Elbit failed toprove that their activity at the Bristol site was lawful, while their witnessesand their statements to police attempted to conceal the fact that the site heldactive export licenses for the shipment of products to Israel. Elbit failed toput forward a single employee as a witness, Elbit's only representation was theex-police Head of Safety and Security for Elbit Systems UK, Martin Kelly, whojoined their payroll only after the November action took place.The defence meanwhile were instructed by Kelly's solicitors, and were representedin court by Mira Hammad and Rosalind Burgin of Garden Court North Chambers, whoexposed the flaws in the Crown's case with ease. Outside the court, groups ofsupporters proudly flew Palestine flags throughout the day, drawing significantengagement from passing crowds and motorists and keeping moral high throughoutthe day.https://freedomnews.org.uk/2022/10/17/breaking-judge-throws-out-case-against-the-bristol-3-who-shut-down-israels-largest-arms-firm-in-bristol/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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