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SHAC defeats HLS and NETCU

SHAC | 30.07.2008 15:13 | SHAC | Animal Liberation | South Coast

SHAC outflank HLS and NETCU by accepting a plea bargain

The trial for 3 the SHAC volunteers ended quietly yesterday leaving HLS completely gutted. HLS had hoped to make a show trial out of the testimonies of its pathetic employees and then claim victory in what was hoped to excessively long sentencing. Much to the lab’s dismay, the three campaigners took a deal — pleading guilty to the charge of Conspiracy to Blackmail, and returned to custody to await the result of the trail of the rest of the accused.

This means the three only have to serve eight years in jail, and taking tagging and the time they spent on remand over a year ago into account, they could all be out in a little over five years time. Not bad, considering the police (who wasted millions of pounds and countless hours of work on this pitiful case) and HLS had been pushing for, and banking on, custodial sentences of not less than 6 years.

SHAC

Comments

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Boundless optimism

30.07.2008 16:30

"This means the three only have to serve eight years in jail"

Only???

Good move

30.07.2008 16:57

If it saves a few years and all they are really just admitting that they interfered with contractual relationships, so as to "harm" an animal research organisation, then all it makes sense.

Giving out leaflets in town, talking to your neighbour, discussing the faults of painful animal experiments is now illegal now under Section 145 of SOCPA, so saying that you 'broke the law' by exercising your right to protest and free speech makes perfect sense. Its further highlighting the repression, which in time will act as motivation to smash the state!

Especially now that Sean Kirtley's appeal has been launched and is moving on, its obvious any sentences will be reduced over time. The global solidarity awaits them!

Lesson to be learnt?

Maybe more activists should be picking up a brick against HLS suppliers/customers, not a megaphone these days? Saves you a hell of a lot of jail time and is much less risky! Don't stop the demos of course, more and more activists are getting involved, but if you've been doing it for quite a while now then why not start your own campaign?

SHAC is not a campaign - its a global movement to close down HLS

Smash HLS
Homepage: http://indymedia.org.uk/en/actions/2008/SHAC

Re: Boundless

30.07.2008 17:03

Clearly states "not less than 6 years"

Instead of the 8, which as you say is rather high. Or maybe even something around 4-5 will be given, like Sean Kirtley, who was sentenced under s145 socrap. As for the idea that prison time is crazy for anyone considering this, you don't get social change without it, so there are a lot of activists out there who accept this as part of standing up for what you believe in. Whether underground or aboveground, its not an issue anymore (at least not within AR anymore anyway!)

"If you live for nothing, you'll die for nothing"

Seriously...

30.07.2008 18:05

How is eight years a result? What happened to fighting SOCPA you are guilty of nothing more than running an effective campaign... once again no criminal damage, no real harrassment nothing except holding a fucking banner! This state makes me sick....

Secret Cheeze

NETCU might want to watch their cars...

30.07.2008 18:56

The more people get pushed around with SOCPA the greater the eventual backlash is going to be... a brick for the car windows of those who work for NETCU and FIT me thinks.

Criminalising legal protest drives people to consider other options. Grab a megaphone and some leaflets and you'll possibly get 4-8 years in prison. Grab a brick n paint under the cover of night, and the chances are you wont get caught and even then your sentence will probably still be the same in the event you are caught.

People need to realise that SOCPA is being tested on animal rights activists, soon the police will roll it out against all protest groups.

Smash the state, smash the cages