Smash EDO Press Release - Seven Campaigners Acquitted

Seven people have been on trial for a week accused of aggravated trespass at Brighton Magistrates court charged with locking on to the fence of EDO MBM/ITT on March 19th 2008 to commemorate the fifth anniversry of the invasion of Iraq. EDO supply weapons used by US and UK forces in Iraq. The defendants argued, as one part of their defence, that EDO's business was not lawful. Paul Hills, Managing Direrctor of EDO, was questioned last week over his companys' complicity in war crimes.

The seven defendants were acquitted this morning by a bench of magistrates.

One person was found guilty of criminal damage after allegedly gluing himself to a fence. He was given a conditional discharge.

Chloe Marsh, press spokesperson for the Smash EDO campaign, said "As always, it is EDO who should be in the dock not people who voice their dissent against them".

Andrew Beckett said "Last week marked the sixth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Yesterday at least 18 Iraqis were killed by violence caused by the US/UK occupation. The only people who have benefitted from the war are private companies like EDO MBM/ITT."

ENDS

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Notes for Journalists

The Company

From their base in Moulescoombe Brighton, EDO MBM/ITT, a unit of ITT corporation, manufacture vital parts for the Hellfire and Paveway weapons systems, laserguided missiles used extensively in Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Somalia. EDO Corp were recently acquired by ITT in a multi-billion pound deal. ITT's links to fascism go back to the 1930s. The founder Sosthenes Behn was the first foreign businessman received by Hitler after his seizure of power.

The Campaign

There has been active campaign against the presence of EDO MBM in Brighton since the outbreak of the Iraq war. Campaigners include students, Quakers, Palestine solidarity activists, anti-capitalists and academics. Despite an injunction under the protection of harassment act (which failed) and over forty arrests the campaign is still going strong.Their avowed aim is to expose EDO MBM and their complicity in war crimes and to remove them from Brighton. They hold regular weekly demos outside the Moulescoombe factory on Wednesday's between 4 and 6.

THE FILM

On the Verge is an independent film about the SMASH EDO Campaign “In 2004 a group of Brighton peace campaigners began to bang pot and pans outside their local arms manufacturers EDO MBM in disgust of their part in the Iraq war. This has grown into the Smash EDO campaign, which has cost the company millions, been the subject of large scale police operations and has tested the right to protest in the UK.Using activist, police and CCTV footage plus interviews with those involved in the campaign, 'On The Verge' tells the story of one of the most persistent and imaginative campaigns to emerge out of the UK's anti-war movement and direct action scene.”