Smash EDO protest ends with mass arrests in Brighton

The company manufactures the Zero Retention Force Arming unit for the VER-2, vertical ejection bomb racks used in Israeli F16 fighter jets and has been a key player in the development of Raytheon's Paveway guided bomb programme.

Smash EDO protesters want to see the factory shut down. In 2009 the 'decomissioners' broke into the building causing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage to the production line with hammers. Today's protest was dubbed 'ITT's Hammertime' to commemorate their actions - they claimed in their defence they were acting to prevent war crimes and sixteen months later they were found not guilty.

According to The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, brought into UK law by the ICC Act 2001, it is an offense for any UK resident to be involved with war crimes or any war of aggression anywhere in the world.

The police had a cordon for an 'official' protest outside the entrance to the industrial estate on Home Farm Road where the facility is based. Protesters gathered as usual at the Moulsecoomb Wild Park Cafe. The police had kettled in a group of around 20 at the entrance to the park. They were then escorted to the rest of the protesters and asked to go to the protest site on the entrance of Home Farm Road.

Section 14 was in operation at the protest site and trying to get the protesters to go there was a pointless waste of time and resources. People split in all directions through the woods to get to the back of the factory but were met with a strong police presence. Most managed to get away as about 20 were kettled in the middle of the field behind the facility. A banner also used as a defence mechanism to keep police back was torn away by overcharged officers and ruthlessly ripped apart. A few arrests were made at this point also.

Eventually the police escorted the group back out to the beginning of Home Farm Road. Some people had made their way downtown and were brought back up Lewes Road in a moving cordon to the protest site whilst the majority were kettled in on Lewes road and Selsfield drive. After much time, police snatch squads began to take people out of the kettle one by one, arresting them whilst taking photographic evidence, names and addresses. By the end 53 people were arrested.

Two photographers not involved in the protest in anyway at all, there to document the proceedings of the day were arrested as they were prevented from leaving the kettle. Technically they were doing nothing illegal by photographing in a public place but the police demanded press passes which they did not have. A legal observer, there to document the activities of the police for the safety and wellbeing of the protesters was also arrested.