More snowball acquittals

On Wednesday 10 April 2002, genetiX snowball campaigners, Jo Hamilton and Martin Shaw won their appeal in Cambridge Crown Court and were acquitted. They were convicted of Aggravated Trespass for pulling up Genetically Modified crops in August 1999 with Rowan Tilly. Ms Tilly appealed her conviction in the High Court in October 2001. She was acquitted, setting a precedent.

The recent acquittals mean that all outstanding business of the campaign is now complete and it is being closed.

Several snowball campaigners are named on injunctions to prevent them pulling up GM crops produced by Monsanto and Aventis (formerly AgrEvo). These injunctions have been ignored. In summer 1999 Monsanto had brought and won an action for contempt of court. It resulted in a suspended sentence for Martin Shaw. At the time of writing Aventis has undertaken no action for breech of injunction, despite snowball campaigners openly pulling up their crops and their being sufficient evidence for a prosecution e.g. police photographs and reports . Most of the GM crops grown in the farm scale trials currently taking place are produced and owned by Aventis.

Audio reports see:

Snowball Appeal, October 2001

Snowball Appeal Upheld, January 2002