Six SHAC defendants have all pleaded GUILTY to charges under SOCPA and Blackmail in a trial at Winchester
The 6 SHAC defeated the Crowns desire for a massive repressive show trial by all pleading guilty. They will be sentenced in October.
All reporting restrictions were lifted.
SHAC defeated the Crowns desire for a massive repressive show trial by all pleading guilty. This prevents the NETCU ‘urban terrorist’ lies being re-issued endlessly.
SHAC, an international campaign group calling for the closure of HLS, has been painted by the police and the press as a 'criminal organisation' duping members of the public concerned with animal abuse into donating their money to further 'a campaign of blackmail'. SHAC's activities, however, have been overwhelmingly lawful: the campaign publishes information about animal abuse inside HLS labs, reports campaigning activities and issues action alerts calling on supporters to write polite letters to companies working with HLS and ask them to desist. If those companies continue to do business with HLS, protests would usually follow. All material on the SHAC website is checked by a barrister and police are given prior notice of their demonstrations.
Despite this all defendants tactically pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in October.
Well done all six defendants – you are hero’s
All reporting restrictions were lifted.
SHAC defeated the Crowns desire for a massive repressive show trial by all pleading guilty. This prevents the NETCU ‘urban terrorist’ lies being re-issued endlessly.
SHAC, an international campaign group calling for the closure of HLS, has been painted by the police and the press as a 'criminal organisation' duping members of the public concerned with animal abuse into donating their money to further 'a campaign of blackmail'. SHAC's activities, however, have been overwhelmingly lawful: the campaign publishes information about animal abuse inside HLS labs, reports campaigning activities and issues action alerts calling on supporters to write polite letters to companies working with HLS and ask them to desist. If those companies continue to do business with HLS, protests would usually follow. All material on the SHAC website is checked by a barrister and police are given prior notice of their demonstrations.
Despite this all defendants tactically pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in October.
Well done all six defendants – you are hero’s
Comments
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Or...
08.09.2010 13:50
AH
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08.09.2010 15:00
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This posting
08.09.2010 15:08
extra info
The Press
08.09.2010 16:03
Jason Mullan, 32, from Holloway Road, London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to harm HLS from 2005 to 2008 under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 by interfering with companies supplying them.
He was joined by Nicola Tapping, 29, from Clarence Road, Gosport, and Alfie Fitzpatrick, 20, from Knowle Road, Solihull, West Midlands, who admitted the same charge.
Thomas Harris, 27, from Clarence Road, Gosport, Hampshire, admitted conspiracy to blackmail companies and suppliers linked to the Cambridge-based company between 2001 and 2008.
The four, who were members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), pleaded guilty at Winchester Crown Court on the eve of their trial.
Two other members of SHAC, Sarah Whitehead, 53, from Thorncroft Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex, and Nicole Vosper, 22, from Bay View Terrace, Newquay, Cornwall, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail at an earlier hearing.
The six waged an international campaign of intimidation against a host of companies to force the closure of HLS.
Homes of staff from the supply firms were targeted with abusive telephone calls and criminal damage and threats of violence were also used to force companies to cut links with HLS.
The Recorder of Winchester, Judge Keith Cutler, adjourned the case for pre-sentence reports. A two-day sentencing hearing will take place at Winchester Crown Court on October 21.
The maximum jail term for conspiracy to blackmail is 14 years and the conspiracy under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 is five years
Association report
@(dis)Honesty
08.09.2010 16:56
As for being the "second round of leaders", let's see what the judge says first shall we? And why would the CPS allow most of these 'leaders' to plead to the much less serious SOCPA charge instead of blackmail?
Arthur
intrigued...
08.09.2010 16:56
Sounds like the CPS over prosecuting to me, and making much more serious accusations against people.
They must have had a weak case to lower the charges.
joe
re: relevance?
08.09.2010 16:57
The relevance is that it actually WAS about the legal activities, because blackmail doesn't have to involve acts which are in themselves breaking the law.
If you threaten to do something (which could be itself perfectly legal) unless a company takes some action (e.g. stopping to deal with animal testing companies), that can be classed as blackmail. Which technically covers pretty much every campaigning group that has ever existed.
For example, releasing an incriminating photo of an MP with a prostitute isn't itself illegal. But if you demand the MP takes some action to stop you releasing the image, it is illegal.
Other movements need to take good heed of this development, because repression usually hits animal rights campaigners first, and is then exported to other groups that rock the boat too much.
Don't believe the government myth that this case is about the small amount of illegal actions that were carried out by persons unknown. It is purely political, because the animal rights movement was hurting the profits of pharmaceutical companies and other powerful interests. That is why the charges are something vague and encompassing like blackmail and not something specific like criminal damage.
anon
Word from the top
08.09.2010 18:22
'If we had gone down and protested outside HLS (Huntingdon Life Sciences) every day for the last five years we would have got nowhere'
Greg Avery, SHAC
Greg
Blackmail examples
08.09.2010 18:48
It's only blackmail if the action the MP is forced to perform doesn't impact on changes to legislation or policy. If it does, then you're using intimidation to obtain a change in law or policy, and this is an offence under section three of the Treason Felony Act of 1848.
The act protects any government that's loyal to the Queen, so it's still an offence if the MP is Canadian or from Bermuda, or even the Scottish Parliament.
It is therefore a bad idea to DEMAND any change or law or policy from any MP, MSP, Stormont or Welsh Assembly member, with anything that can be construed as a threat.
The good news is that the European Parliament does not swear loyalty to the Queen, and you can do with your MEP what you will, subject only to the laws on blackmail.
Anon, but not the usual anon
Solidarity
08.09.2010 19:55
Regardless of what any of them have done, as far as I am concerned the real criminals are the ones in HLS.
The use of blackmail is just a way to get higher sentences - surely the more appropriate charge is the SOCPA 145 - interfering with a contractual relationship of an animal research organisation.
The blackmail charge could be applied to environmental/ anti war protesters if the police wanted to. A blackmail is an unwarranted demand with menaces. Any protest involving a minor crime could amount to this. And no doubt one day they will start using Blackmail against other protest movements.
It's been done against SHAC people because campaigning by animal rights activists (lawful and unlawful) was effective, and this was their way of trying to put a stop to it by taking everyone out of the movement by locking them up with high sentences.
It is also a massive PR stunt to give the pharmaceutical industry confidence.
Interesting that some had their charges lowered to SOCPA. Must be a massive blow to the cops as the sentences are much lower.
chas