OFFICIAL: Fairy-Hugging is Not a Crime
CH | 16.10.2005 14:43 | G8 2005 | Repression
Despite reports implying that large numbers of G8 cases have been dropped, trials of people arrested during and around July's protests continue in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Last Thursday (the 13th) saw a Not Guilty verdict returned in a case related to Friday 9th July's anti-climate change Boogie on the Bridge.
The charges faced by Sean Scullion of London were that he had attempted to remove another protester, dressed as a fairy, from the custody of the police, i.e. "de-arrest" her, and had obstructed those police in their duty by standing between them. His case was that he was holding on to her in an attempt to de-escalate a stressful situation arising from the police's behaviour towards the protesters, the fairy in particular.
The party on Glasgow's George V Bridge, targeting the proposed M74 Extension as part of the International Day of Action Against the Root Causes of Climate Change, was good-natured and took place on one of Glasgow's hottest days that summer. People were dancing and smiling but prevented from entering the City Centre by a line of Police. When the party moved south and west, the police followed for a while before penning it in a cordon, for "the safety of protesters", according to WPC Bellingham's evidence. Once the cordon had formed, people were kept stationary in the heat for a couple of hours but remained cheerful until the police started to force them back towards the city centre.
It's around this point the account offered by the accused and his witness differ sharply from that offered by the Police witnesses, WPC Bellingham of Lesmahagow and PC Barr of Motherwell. The police witnesses maintained, against detailed questioning by defence solicitor Claire Ryan, that the crowd had been "shepherded" in the cordon that they were unable to leave, but that no-one had been pushed, especially not the fairy. They also revealed that they had been on duty since 6:30am (the arrests took place a little after 7pm), wearing heavy fluorescent jackets in the sun but claimed that their tempers had not been frayed. After detailed questioning on the pushing point, the WPC was looking about the court in apparent irritation.
When Sean Scullion took the stand in his defence he told how he had caught the fairy when she had been pushed by WPC Bellingham for a second time, colliding with him. They were then snatched out of the crowd and thrown up against a wall by 3 or 4 officers and arrested. He shouted "Go Limp!" so as to avoid further violence from the police. When the procurator fiscal asked him what he thought of the actions of the police, in an apparent attempt to paint him as a cop-hating extremist, he replied that they were good at silencing dissent. He was clear that he had been holding onto the fairy, not pulling her arm back from the police officers, as charged. The fairy then took the stand and confirmed Mr Scullion's version of events, at least as far as she remembered. (Reasonably enough, her attention had been held by the WPC attacking her and she hadn't noticed Sean until they were both shoved up against the wall in Morrison Street.) Hearing this, the fiscal moved to have the case concluded before the third defence witness could be called. This was agreed and the Sheriff delivered his verdict.
He concluded that he had no particular reason to disbelieve the police evidence and no particular reason to disbelieve the defence case and that there was therefore reasonable doubt and verdict was "Not Guilty" on both charges. Applause from the public gallery was knocked back by him with a stern "this is not a pantomime," to which no-one was quick enough to reply "oh yes it is."
So was it a victory for the Justice system? Only if you discount the inconvenience, stress and expense it caused the participants. The flimsy evidence meant that the case should never have reached trial and the sad fact is that the case isn't wholly over yet. This Wednesday (19th), the fairy who was Sean's witness is up in the same court (Glasgow Sheriff Court 17, 10am) on charges of Police Assault arising from the same incident. Four other G8 defendants are appearing in the same session and, while this verdict offers hope, there's no guarantee that the right verdicts will be reached in those cases. People are being asked to come down to the court that day to show their support for the defendants and their refusal to be intimidated. (Cases are also pending in Edinburgh, Perth and Stirling, contact
july2005solidarity@yahoo.co.uk if you want to offer support.)
See also:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/07/318374.html
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/07/317450
The party on Glasgow's George V Bridge, targeting the proposed M74 Extension as part of the International Day of Action Against the Root Causes of Climate Change, was good-natured and took place on one of Glasgow's hottest days that summer. People were dancing and smiling but prevented from entering the City Centre by a line of Police. When the party moved south and west, the police followed for a while before penning it in a cordon, for "the safety of protesters", according to WPC Bellingham's evidence. Once the cordon had formed, people were kept stationary in the heat for a couple of hours but remained cheerful until the police started to force them back towards the city centre.
It's around this point the account offered by the accused and his witness differ sharply from that offered by the Police witnesses, WPC Bellingham of Lesmahagow and PC Barr of Motherwell. The police witnesses maintained, against detailed questioning by defence solicitor Claire Ryan, that the crowd had been "shepherded" in the cordon that they were unable to leave, but that no-one had been pushed, especially not the fairy. They also revealed that they had been on duty since 6:30am (the arrests took place a little after 7pm), wearing heavy fluorescent jackets in the sun but claimed that their tempers had not been frayed. After detailed questioning on the pushing point, the WPC was looking about the court in apparent irritation.
When Sean Scullion took the stand in his defence he told how he had caught the fairy when she had been pushed by WPC Bellingham for a second time, colliding with him. They were then snatched out of the crowd and thrown up against a wall by 3 or 4 officers and arrested. He shouted "Go Limp!" so as to avoid further violence from the police. When the procurator fiscal asked him what he thought of the actions of the police, in an apparent attempt to paint him as a cop-hating extremist, he replied that they were good at silencing dissent. He was clear that he had been holding onto the fairy, not pulling her arm back from the police officers, as charged. The fairy then took the stand and confirmed Mr Scullion's version of events, at least as far as she remembered. (Reasonably enough, her attention had been held by the WPC attacking her and she hadn't noticed Sean until they were both shoved up against the wall in Morrison Street.) Hearing this, the fiscal moved to have the case concluded before the third defence witness could be called. This was agreed and the Sheriff delivered his verdict.
He concluded that he had no particular reason to disbelieve the police evidence and no particular reason to disbelieve the defence case and that there was therefore reasonable doubt and verdict was "Not Guilty" on both charges. Applause from the public gallery was knocked back by him with a stern "this is not a pantomime," to which no-one was quick enough to reply "oh yes it is."
So was it a victory for the Justice system? Only if you discount the inconvenience, stress and expense it caused the participants. The flimsy evidence meant that the case should never have reached trial and the sad fact is that the case isn't wholly over yet. This Wednesday (19th), the fairy who was Sean's witness is up in the same court (Glasgow Sheriff Court 17, 10am) on charges of Police Assault arising from the same incident. Four other G8 defendants are appearing in the same session and, while this verdict offers hope, there's no guarantee that the right verdicts will be reached in those cases. People are being asked to come down to the court that day to show their support for the defendants and their refusal to be intimidated. (Cases are also pending in Edinburgh, Perth and Stirling, contact
july2005solidarity@yahoo.co.uk if you want to offer support.) See also:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/07/318374.html http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/07/317450
CH