Special Interest: These trials will consider the legality of the war on Iraq.
Special Event: Vigil to mark resumption of Hearings, & to mark 6 months on from the invasion of Iraq.
Place: Gloucester Crown Court. Friday 19th September 2003 @ 9:15am.
(Please see the notes section for more information.)
For Immediate Release.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO ATTEND BOTH THE VIGIL & HEARING.
On 19th Sept Judge Jamie Tabor, sitting in Gloucester Crown Court, will decide on procedures by which the ‘Fairford’ jury trials will be heard.
Alldefendants in these 4 cases – Paul Milling, Margaret Jones, Phil Pritchard,Toby Olditch, Josh Richards, Kate Holcombe, Geoffrey Cornock – will invoke ‘lawful excuse’ for disabling, or attempting to disable, planes & support equipment at Fairford Air Force base (Cotswolds, Gloucestershire) in the weeks prior to the invasion of Iraq. All of them acted on the grounds that the war on Iraq was illegal making their actions, or attempted actions, legal. In the case of Kate Holcolme, she denies the charge of criminal damage to a perimeter gate.
NOTES TO THE READER:
DATE: Friday 19th September. TIME: 9:15am onwards.
PLACE: Gloucester Crown Court. Kimbrose Way. Along the A430 off the A38. On the junction of Commercial Rd & Southgate St.
MAP
http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?X=383000&Y=218500&scale=10000
This Hearing coincides with 6 months on from the invasion of Iraq. Vigils will be held across the country to mark this date. There will also be a Vigil outside Gloucester Crown. To get there please follow the directions above, or if you live in Bristol or the surrounding area, please contact: 0117 9466885 or 07711 214168
BACKGROUND:
Fairford is in the Cotswolds, UK. RAF/USAF Fairford is one of only 3 forward bases (outside the US) for B2 Stealth bombers. The others are in Guam and Diego Garcia. In tests the B2 has released B61 and B83 mini-nuclear weapons, the first of a new generation.
On 3rd and 4th March 2003, fourteen B52 bombers from USAF 23rd Bomb Squadron ‘Barons’ arrived at RAF/USAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, UK, to prepare for the aerial bombing of Iraq, which began on the 20th March 2003. On April 24th 2003, after 142 flights and 54 days, they left.
