First Gaza, now the West Bank. We’ve been out protesting for nearly a year, and the forces of the establishment are taking a toll on our activists — but here’s an idea that could change that:

Any of us can, at any time get called up for jury service and right now, what you do in that job could be a far greater service to justice than you might imagine.  In UK law, a person can be acquitted of a crime if the jury believes their action was taken to prevent a greater crime.

The most commonly discussed scenario for this point of law is if you discover an intruder in your house, maybe heading for the kids’ bedroom – but here are some examples on topics that are very much on our minds lately…

In a case that was much talked about in Hastings some years back, local residents Andrea Needham and Emily Johns were part of a successful attempt to stop a jet heading out to take part in a murderous crime. The jet was being prepared in the UK for Indonesia, where it was to be used in the massacre in East Timor. See John Pilger’s film Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy. Their defence was that disabling the jet could help to prevent or reduce, what was shaping up to be a huge crime. The court agreed, and they were acquitted. See Andrea Needham’s book, The Hammer Blow for the story of their action.

Earlier this year, some Just Stop Oil activists were similarly acquitted of criminal damage…

Just Stop Oil protesters acquitted of causing criminal damage to BP fuel pumps

And just last week, there was the case at Bradford Crown Court, where Palestine Action activists were acquitted…

Jury defies judge and refuses to convict Palestine Action activists

It’s important that we remember a jury is within its rights to acquit in such circumstances even if the evidence shows they did it — but, because judges can now disallow any defence that they consider ‘political’, you may not hear about that. If the Hammerblow women were in court now, they probably would not be allowed to talk about the violence in East Timor.

The law about a lesser crime to prevent a greater one still exists, even if it’s not mentioned in court. Jurors just have to work it out for themselves.

So if you get called for jury service, and it’s obvious the defendants are, for example, anti-war or anti-genocide activists, remember that the United Nations and the most senior courts in the world have identified war crimes by Israel and have asked all our governments to take action. What’s more, South Africa is now lining up to accuse the UK of complicity so, if we aren’t happy that our government is doing its best to help stop a genocide, we need to take action — and so long as our action is reasonable and proportionate, it is lawful to do so.

But it only works if people know about it, and have the courage to speak up.

Pass the word – if you are on a jury, and you think an activist was trying to stop an environmental disaster, or a war crime, by committing a bit of obstruction or damage to, say, an arms factory’s property – the law is with you even if the judge doesn’t tell you so. You can tell your fellow jurors, if you honestly believe those protesters acted reasonably and proportionately to prevent a greater crime, you can vote ‘not guilty’.

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Cheers,

Kay

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