VICTORY IN THE HIGH COURT

Anti war campaigners won a major victory in the High Court yesterday (Friday 29th April). Arms manufacturer EDO MBM had applied for an injunction under anti-stalking laws to restrict protest outside their Brighton factory. The order sought by the corporation would have created an exclusion zone where protests would only be allowed on Thursday afternoons for two hours with a maximum of 10 silent protestors.

In stark contrast Judge Gross ruled in the run up to the trial that an interim injunction would not attempt to restrict the timing, frequency or numbers allowed on demonstrations. This was despite the defendants refusing to negotiate the injunction in order to avoid lending legitimacy to the proceedings. In explaining his refusal to impose conditons Judge Gross said "freedom of expression is a right jealously guarded in English law".

However campaigners continue to insist that any use of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (originally introduced to protect people from stalking) is a gross violation of their civil liberties.

Ceri Gibbons who has volunteered to be a defendant to protect the rights of protestors said "EDO have made a great mistake in bringing this action to court. Now their contempt for human rights has been exposed to public view, as even at this stage of the trial the judge has effectively demolished their proposed exclusion zone. EDO were proud of their role as spearcarriers for an illegal war. Where was the injunctive relief for the people of Iraq?"

Campaigners are looking forward to a swift trial, where they will expose EDO's complicity in war crimes and Sussex Police's attack on the right to protest.

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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