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20th January 2009
THREE REMANDED IN EDO DECOMISSIONERS BAIL HEARING
Three people were remanded in custody by Brighton Magistrate's
court Monday as they faced charges in relation to the break
in and decommissioning of ITT-EDO MBM late Friday night in protest
at the company's supply of components used by the Israeli military
in Gaza.
7 men have so far been charged with Burglary and Criminal Damage
and those who entered a plea said they were not guilty. The
CPS have announced that the sixth EDO Decomissioner, a woman
who was injured during the action and has been in hospital since,
will face a bail hearing Tuesday morning at Brighton Magistrate's
Court.
One man from Brighton who was arrested outside the factory
premises and states he had no knowledge of the intentions of
the decommissioners was remanded till a committal hearing in
the Crown Court next week, another man from Brighton was bailed
not to return to the city and given curfew conditions.
In the afternoon two men who had admitted intending to smash
up the factory in a video made before the action and posted
on the internet were remanded, while three others were bailed
not to return to the city with other conditions including not
to protest against ITT EDO MBM.
The CPS said the company estimated the cost of material damage
at £250,000 before any loss of business was taken into
account. The threshold of £10,000 is required to justify
a Crown Court jury trial.
Notes for
Journalists The Company
EDO MBM Technologies Ltd are the sole UK subsidiary of huge U.S
weapons manufacturer EDO Corp.From their base in Moulescoombe
Brighton, EDO MBM manufacture vital parts for the Hellfire and
Paveway weapons systems,laserguided missilesused 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 o f 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.”
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