Prestwick Airport trespass charges dropped
11.08.07
Eight anti-war protesters have been cleared of trespassing at Prestwick Airport because signs on its fence did not clearly show it was an offence. The protesters were charged with breaking into the airport and boarding a US Air Force plane.
Ayr Sheriff Court had heard how the group breached a chain link fence at the airport last August. The anti-war campaign group Trident Ploughshares said that its activists carried out inspections of the airport and a C130 military plane to look for evidence of US munitions bound for Israel for use in the Lebanon conflict.
The protesters argued that wording on the signs at the site did not indicate a person breaching the fence would be committing an illegal act. They said this exact wording was necessary according to the Civil Aviation Act 1992. Sheriff John Montgomery accepted the accused's submissions.
The only charge upheld was against Marcus Armstrong, from Milton Keynes. He was charged with boarding a military aircraft after being positively identified by two police officers. Two other protesters had similar charges dropped because the police could not identify them.
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