Activists found Not Guilty on the grounds of trying to prevent a greater crime

The eight activists from Peru, Chile, Bahrain, Belgium and the UK who were arrested for taking action at the DSEI arms fair last September were found not guilty on the ground of trying to prevent a greater crime.

The judge delivered the verdict at Stratford Magistrates Court after concluding that throughout the trial, “clear, credible and largely unchallenged evidence from the expert witnesses of wrongdoing” at DSEI had been presented.

The Crown Prosecution Service tried to appeal the decision; and yesterday it was announced that the judge had rejected the appeal.

Win or lose, we have throughout remained wholeheartedly at peace with our actions to try and shut down the fair. We choose to remain on the side of history that rejects the facilitation of torture and mass indiscriminate killing for corporate profit. As ever, our only regret is that we didn’t stop the arms fair. As fresh evidence continues to emerge of the suffering caused by arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and other brutal regimes, the UK government’s position grows increasingly untenable.

– from the statement by the defendants