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5th December 2007
'Bad Karaoke' outside Brighton Town Hall to protest Council
Byelaws being used against Legitimate protest
On Thursday 6th December
four anti arms trade activists are on trial at 10am at Brighton
Magistrate's Court after being arrested at a 'Bad Karaoke'
noise demo outside EDO MBM, a Brighton based weapons manufacturer
supplying weapons to the US, UK and Israel. One of the four
was arrested under Section 235 of the Local Government Act,
a council byelaw designed to deal with noise from drunks in
the street.
Video
of the original protest
At 4pm on Thursday 6th Smash EDO, the campaign to close down
EDO MBM, will be singing karaoke outside Brighton Town Hall
in Bartholomew Square to let the council know that their byelaws
are being used to intimidate legitimate protesters. Prosecutions
under council byelaws must be approved by the council.
Dan Saunders, one of those arrested, said "the right
to freedom of expression is under attack in ths country. The
police are misusing council byelaws to stifle peaceful protest.
We want the council to take action to make sure the police
do not continue to use council byelaws to intimidate protesters.
For more info contact Andrew Beckett or Chloe Marsh on 07875708873
or email smashedopress@yahoo.co.uk
For more details see www.smashedo.org.uk
Notes for Journalists
Brighton & Hove is a UN Peace Messenger
City
The injunction referred to was served under the 1997 Protection
from Harassment Act (originally designed to protect women from
stalkers) and is the first of its kind directed at activists outside
of the animal rights movement. Crucially it is a civil injunction
but carries criminal penalties. It affects anyone deemed to be
a protestor. Initially EDO/MBM requested a large "exclusion
zone" comprising the whole of Home Farm Industrial Estate.
They and Sussex police also wanted to limit demonstrations
to two and a half hours, with less thanten people who had to be
silent. Judge Gross refusedto impose these conditions at the initial
hearing of an interim injunction, which was put in place in the
period before the full trial to be heard at the High court in
London from November 21st. In his summing up he said, "The
right to freedom of expression is jealously guarded in English
law" and consequently refused to impose the requested limits
on size, timing or noise made at demonstrations. He also said
that he doubted that protesters were 'stalking' employees of EDO
MBM.
EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole UK subsidiary of
huge U.S arms conglomerate EDO Corp, which was recently named
No. 10 in the Forbes list of 100 fastest growing companies. They
supply bomb release mechanisms to the US and UK armed forces amongstothers.
They supply crucial components for Raytheon's Paveway guided bomb
system, widely used in the "Shock and Awe" campaign
in Iraq .
EDO also withdrew a threatened libel action against Indymedia
over being named as "warmongers".
Lawson-Cruttenden & Co
Solicitors firm working for EDO have been instrumental in developing
the Protection of Harassment Act 1997 from a measure designed
to safeguard individuals to a corporate charter to make inconvenient
protest illegal. Theyhave pioneered to use of injunctions to create
large "exclusion zones". They have secured numerous
injunctions against anti-vivisection and anti-GM protestors.
Campaign against EDO MBM
People involved in the anti-EDO campaign include, but are not
limited to: local residents, the Brighton Quakers, peace activists,
anti-capitalists, Palestine Solidarity groups, human rights groups,
trade unionists, academics and students. The campaign started
in August 2004 with a peace camp. It's avowed aim is to expose
EDO MBM and their complicity in war crimes and to remove them
from Brighton.
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