Tulla Anti-War Court Report

clare | anti-war / imperialism | news report Saturday July 26, 2003 14:56 by Court Reporter Tulla Co. Clare, United States of Dubya

starring Joseph Mangan as the District Court Judge

report on the cases of
Mary Kelly
Jenny Hannon & Martin McGowan
Eamonn Murphy
and also the request for the return of the banners taken last month.
The judge was less rude this time, but still managed to call everyone else rude except himself.
The full transcripts are not yet formatted.
They will be made available online when ready.

3 of the cases in Tulla yesterday related to anti-war protests in Shannon.
All cases had previously been scheduled to finish on June 26th, but due to the farcical behaviour of the judge on the day, and lack of prosecution documents they were adjourned until yesterday.
Eamonn Murphy for March 1st.
Mary Kelly for Trespass Aug 17, 2002
Jennifer Hannon and Martin McGowan trespass on Good Friday, 2003.
Judge Joseph Mangan presiding,
Inspector Tom Kennedy prosecuting,
Solicitor John Devane defending.

http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=52923

The case involving Eamonn Murphy had been previously adjourned as a report on the defendant had not been produced by the Prosecution.
Yesterday, the Prosecution told the court, that the report had still not been delivered.
The judge told John Devane to write to the probation service and the Minister for Justice to complain about this.
The case has been adjourned until the 9th October in Shannon.

The case of Jenny and Martin was next up, and Mr.
Devane asked the judge to hear it later with Mary
Kelly's case as there was an overlap in the witnesses.
When the case was adjourned last month, the court had heard evidence about the defendants being on the airfield from the Airport police and Garda, but the defence witness former Commandant Horgan had not finished testifying. Mr. Devane said that Mr. Horgan would finish his testimony and that two other witnesses would follow.

Mr. Horgan was called to the stand and sworn in.
The judge recalled that at the end of the previous
hearing they were examining the judgement and costs order of Mr. Horgan's High Court case against the State.
Mr. Horgan produced the documents, having marked on them the places where the Judge agreed that the
Government had violated Irish Neutrality and
International Law. (the High Court refused to order the government to stop because it didn’t want to interfere with the government)

After the judge had read the documents, and before Mr. Horgan began to testify, the judge placed his hands in his head, closed his eyes and did not look up from his bench for at least half and hour (during which time the three defence witnesses were testifying)

The court was reminded that Mr. Horgan spent 22 years in the Irish Army, is a retired Commandant, and was on several UN peacekeeping missions throughout the world, including the Middle East.
The court was told that in his army career, Commdt
Horgan had done border patrols, escorted armoured
cars, assisted the Gardai, and was head of Military security at Portlaoise Prison.

Mr. Horgan then spoke at length about Weapons of Mass Destruction passing through Shannon, some of which he knew about from the discovery motions related to his High Court Case.

E.g. 28 Patriot Missiles being transported on a Polar Air Cargo jumbo jet through Shannon.
Cruise Missiles being transported through Shannon.
Flights carrying hundreds of M-16s and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Mr. Horgan informed the court that M-16s have a high rate of fire and that every single round had the ability to take a human life.

He spoke about the large number of Iraqi dead, the
continuing deaths every day of US troops during the occupation, and also the deaths, largely unreported in the 'West', of Iraqi civilians. He gave an example that on Wednesday an Iraqi family of five (including four children)was killed, but that this was not reported in the 'western' media.

Mr. Horgan made reference to Airteagal 29 of Bunreacht na hEireann /the Constitution of Ireland.
29.3
"Ireland accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in its relations with other States."

He referred also to the Nuremberg Principles which not only bestow a right, but a duty to violate domestic law in order to uphold International Law and prevent a crime against peace or humanity.

Mr. Horgan said that since January 1, 2003 over 50,000 US troops have passed through Shannon on their way to Iraq. Mr. Horgan said that this figure is more than 4 times the total number of personnel in the Irish Defence Forces. These troops also carried weapons and cargo flights carried larger weaponry and associated
hardware.

Mr. Horgan said that this clearly constituted
participation in the war, as he would know from his expertise as a military logistician that modern warfare cannot be fought abroad without such logistical support as was given by the use of Shannon airport and Irish airspace.
Mr. Horgan told the court that he personally felt that we have a duty to prevent such crimes and that he felt ashamed and humiliated that he had failed to stop these illegal acts going on despite his efforts.

When asked how a former high ranking military officer would come to meet the defendants, Mr. Horgan replied, that it was because of his military experience and knowledge that he was so committed to the campaign and that he met the defendants through their anti-war activities, including those at the Peace Camp at Shannon.

Speaking about the duty to uphold higher law and human life, Mr. Horgan cited the example that a fireman sees a person trapped in a burning building, he is allowed to his way through a closed door to rescue the person without fear of punishment for trespass.

Mr. Horgan was then asked if he was proud of his army record. "Yes, very much so" he replied.
He was then asked if he was proud of his country.
"I find it hard to say and never thought I would, but I am now ashamed of what this country is doing".

The prosecution did not question any of Mr. Horgan's 15 minute testimony but instead asked if he was at Shannon airport on the 18th April, which he was not.
He was asked if he knew the defendants at the time of the alleged offence.
He replied that he had met them and knew them, but
could not say exactly when or he had first met them.

The next witness to be called was Nuria Mustafa-Dunne an Iraqi woman, originally from Baghdad.
Nuria had brought her own copy of the Koran to swear her oath.

She confirmed that she was an Iraqi citizen, living in Ireland for 8 years and married to an Irish man. She said that she considered Ireland to be her second home, that her daughter was born here. She said that she felt she would not have been able to look her daughter in the eye in future if she had to tell her that she didn't try to stop the slaughter of innocent
people in Iraq.
When asked of her personal knowledge of Iraqi deaths, Mrs Mustafa told the court that she had lost one of her aunts due to the bombings.
(the judge is still not looking, and continues to
hold his head in his hands - some of the public are visibly moved)

She told the court that she had met the defendants
during the time of the Peace Camp at Shannon, and that she felt compelled to help these principled people.
She had met Ramsey Clark, the former Attorney General of the USA, and he had said "if all the people were like Mary Kelly, there would have been no war".
She had also met Dennis Halliday,former asst secretary general of the United Nations.
She spoke of her frequent contact with her family in Iraq, sometimes difficult to do, and that she knew from her family that awful things were happening in Iraq that were simply not reported in the media here.
She quoted Colin Powell as saying that "the number of Iraqi civilian casualties is not a figure that anyone was interested in". Visibly emotional at this stage, she said that the defendants and other people in court
who she considered to be friends, had made the effort to get interested and involved and sought out information for themselves.

The Prosecution did not cross examine or contradict any of this evidence.

The next witness to be called was Tim Hourigan.
Mr. Hourigan addressed his evidence to the judge who was still face down at the bench.

Mr. Hourigan gave evidence that he had worked for an aircraft leasing company in the Shannon Industrial Estate next to the airport, and that he was knowledgeable about aircraft and could tell some of them by their silhouette alone, and could distinguish between different engine types.
He agreed with defence statement that he was somewhat prominent in the media and had been involved in the Peace Camp at Shannon.
He said that he knew Mary Kelly for 18 months if not longer, Jenny 6 months or more, and had met Martin in Limerick city around February 2003, while visiting other activists in prison.
Mr. Hourigan testified that he had been monitoring
military use of Shannon since late Sept / early
October 2001 and that in that time he had seen a large number of military aircraft including the MD-11s, DC-10s of World Airways, L-1011s of ATA, North American, US Navy C-130 Hercules, US Marine Corp KC-130 tankers, giant C-5 Galaxy transporters, A-10 ground attack aircraft, F-16 fighters, US Navy C-20 jets, C-9s and C-40s similar to the one involved in the recent Kilrush case. He said that he could go on as this was not an exhaustive list and was merely given
as an example.

Defence asked Mr. Hourigan why he got involved in the campaign and the movement.
He said that he did not agree with the killing of
innocent Iraqis or the use of Shannon and Irish
airspace to facilitate it.
When asked how he felt when he saw these aircraft he said that it made him furious, and also instilled a sense of fear in him such that he felt personally assaulted by their presence.
He felt angry that the government chose not only to help kill innocent people in Iraq but to risk the staff and passengers of the airport by making them human shields and stated that under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, article 8.(2)(b)(xxiii) "Utilizing the presence of a civilian or other protected person to render certain points, areas or military forces immune from military operations" is defined as a war crime.
He said that parking military aircraft next to
civilians made them into human shields.
He also said that he was angry that some "un-named
higher power" had made the Gardai and the Army neglect their duty at Shannon and turn a blind eye to the crimes there.

Mr. Devane asked him if he had made any complaints to the Gardai about Shannon.
"yes, I have made several complaints at Shannon Garda Station and also at Henry Street Garda Station."
He was asked if these had been acted upon.
"not to my knowledge" he replied.

The Prosecution did not cross-examine or contradict
any of the testimony.

The prosecution then called witnesses for the trespass charge against Mary Kelly – (which allegedly happened in Aug ’02 but she was only charged with after the January action)
Insp Kennedy called Tom Ben, an “airport police
inspector” to the stand.
The airport police are not members of the Garda
Siochana and have limited powers and jurisdiction.
Mr. Ben is the same man referred to in many reports as the APO who refuses to identify himself (a.k.a “smiley”) even though this is required under section
48 (3) of the Air Navigation and Transport (Amendment)
Act 1998.
http://193.120.124.98/ZZA24Y1998S48.html


(According to 48(6) of the same act “Any person who falsely represents himself or herself to be an
authorised officer shall be guilty of an offence.”
Then, one would have good grounds to believe that a person who declares themselves to be an authorised officer but refuses to prove it is an impostor and a criminal )

According to Mr. Ben, the demo at Shannon on August 17 02 was an anti war demo attended by no more than 60 people who assembled outside the arrivals terminal, and whom he observed by CCTV.

He said he observed Mary Kelly climbing the fence and by the time he got out to her she was on an taxi way.
He said that he knew Mary Kelly at the time.
He was then asked to point her out. He looked around the court but did not point at anyone for quiet some time until he finally recognised Mary.
He said that the fence at that point was 4.5 ft high with barbed wire on top.
When he reached Mary she had a placard and what
appeared to be a Palestinian flag.
She said that she objected to the use of the airport by the US military.
He arrested her and handed her over to the Gardai.

Mr. Devane then cross examined.
He asked if the CCTV was being used to record Mary
Kelly on the day.
Mr. Ben said that it was.

-In his statement, Mr. Ben had said that he watched Mary Kelly on camera, but did not mention having tapes. The tapes were not handed over to the Gardai, and Mr. Ben’s statement was not made until early july 2003. (after the first part of the case was heard and some 10 months after the alleged incident)

Garda Oliver Foley was next called to the stand.
Garda Foley is now stationed in Limerick, but
previously at Shannon.
He said that he met mr, Ben and conveyed Mary Kelly to the Garda Station where he verified her name and address. He recognised her from having seen her earlier, trying to enter the door of the terminal.
(note: Ms. Kelly was released without charge. She was not charged with trespass for a further 5 months)

In cross examination Gda Foley admitted that he did not ask the airport police for the CCTV tapes. He knew that they were available, but did not ask for them.

Mr. Devane asked Gda Foley about a conversation he had with Mary Kelly where he told her that “you’d need thousands down here to stop this and you don’t know the half of what’s going on at that airport”
He denied saying this. He also denied telling Mary
that former president Bill Clinton’s private jet had landed at Shannon.
The judge ruled this irrelevant.
Devane then asked for a direction that the CCTV tapes be provided, but the judge refused, despite there being legal precedent for this, and despite the fact that the defence were only informed of the existence of the tapes after the trial had started.
Mr.Devane requested a judicial review of that
decision, which judge Mangan refused.
After lunch, Mr. Devane asked to recall Mr.Ben to ask him more about the non-provision of the taped
evidence.
The judge did not allow it. John Devane then asked the Prosecutor, Inspector Tom Kennedy - head of Shannon Garda Station- if the Gardai had ever requested the tapes. Inspector Kennedy conceded that they had not sought that evidence.

Mary Kelly was next on the stand.
She testified that she was at the protest on Aug 17th 2002,which had a lot more than 60 people at it. She was at the protest, with many others because she was concerned at the presence of US warplanes.
The Gardai had blocked the way to the terminal. People at the terminal had confirmed that there was a US Air Force C-130 at the terminal,but the Gardai at the blockade were denying this.
The march eventually reached the terminal,a die-in was held to simulate the fate of innocent people in war.
Ms Kelly told the court that these military aircraft are involved in bombing Iraq, that she was aware of the impending invasion of Iraq and that Iraq is only a short trip by air from Shannon.
She was then asked about her own life. She toldthe
court that she was born in Athlone, is the mother of 4 children, a nurse,has protested both in Ireland and abroad,Faslane and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
She said that she firmly believed that what she did was right. She had a duty to protest and make more people aware of what was going on at the time. At the time the media was not putting much focus on what was going on at Shannon. She said she had acted consistently with the Nuremberg and had tried to uphold International Law and prevent a crime against peace.
She told the court that the invasion had no UN
mandate.
She also confirmed that she had been at protests all over the country and is still active in the anti-war movement.
Mr.Devane then asked what Garda Foley had said to her in the squad car en route to the Garda Station.
The judge said he would not hear that.
Mr. Devane then asked about the area where Ms. Kelly had entered the airport, if there were any signs visible there prohibiting entry.
She said that there were no signs at that time, and that she had a witness to that. Also, when she
returned on a later date with a solicitor, there had been no signs erected.
She confirmed that she had been helpful and
co-operative with the Gardai, had advised them of her reasons for protest.
She confirmed that she believed in Irish Law and
International Law and was respectful of the UN.
She said she believed that her actions whould uphold international law and protect human life. She said that as a nurse and a mother she was concerned for the Iraqi people, particularly Iraqi mothers who would be
most vulnerable.
She said that her action was vital to publicise the illegal use of the airport and referred to the Garda's lie that there was no military aircraft at Shannon.

She said that if Ireland was about to be invaded by another country,she hoped that citizens of that
country and others would take non-violent action to try to prevent it.
She said she had not used force,nor even damaged the fence and would do this action again if necessary, but added that she thought we had since been succesful in bringing public attention to the issue and that the true use of Shannon has been exposed.
She spoke about the ongoing loss of life in
Iraq,mostly unreported here, and also of the death of Dr. David Kelly in the UK. She said that "this man was isolated for speaking the truth, he was unable to stand up against them by himself, and his death s a tragedy for his family".

Prosecution made short cross-examination.
Ms. Kelly was asked if she knew it was prohibited to enter the airfield.
She replied that there were no signs in the area,but that if it was prohibited that she did not consider her entry to be wrong.

That concluded the testimony.

John Devane, in his submission,quoted several legal texts and Irish case precedents that found that "every person has the right to defend any person from unlawful harm" He argued that the defendants sought to defend innocent life and that their defence was admissable within the findings of the Irish Supreme Court.
He quoted other findings that the use of unnecessary force is illegal. He said that the Irish Government, US and UK governments were wrong in their actions.
Referring to the separation of powers,he said that
regardless of the political decisions,that it was
accepted in International Law that the US and UK had carried out an illegal act. He suggested that they should be held accountable before a tribunal of their peers. He said that the Irish government had facilitated this illegal act through the use of Shannon airport and Irish airspace, and that the consciencious people of Ireland had opposed this.

He said that Martin McGowan had planted potatoes "out of despair" and wanted to promote life rather than death. He said Jenny Hannon had done likewise.
He said that the three defendants were not motivated by greed or a criminal mind. That they did something moral to oppose something that was wrong, and were now being brought to court by the State which itself was violating International Law.
he said that they would not be in court if Weapons of Mass Destruction had not been allowed through Shannon.
He pointed out that the evidence of Commandant Horgan had not been contested by the prosecution,nor had the testimony of Mr. Hourigan.
He said that the three defendants had sought peace, and had not been violent or abusive to the Gardai in a situation where thousands of people were threatened through the greed of others.

He argued that if the US had the arbitrary right to depose the Iraqi regime, not because of Weapons of Mass Destruction, but for ulterior motives then would they not claim the right to depose an FF or FG govt if it didn't like them?

Three people here had said no to that.
three people here had said that it is not right for thousands of Iraqis to do, for Iraqi people to suffer lukaemia because of Depleted Uranium and they tried to do something to stop it.
He asked if anyone could blame them for this.

The Prosecution made no submission.

The judge said that he was not considering the rights and wrongs of Iraq nor the rights and wrongs of the Irish Government.
He said that "if there were so many people at these demos,then why are there only a small number before the courts?" He asked what distinguished this small number from the others (bravery, surely?)
He then lectured the court that there are "too many people before this court who know little about the law, little about democracy and nothing about manners and this was a recipe for anarchy"
He then said that too many people in this island had lost their lives because "people with perceived grudges had taken the law into their own hands"
The public were outraged and this comparison of peace activists murdering terrorists and Jenny asked "how can you even say that". judge Mangan told her to be quiet or else be removed.
He convicted all three. Mr. Devane asked for leniency of sentence due to their personal and financial situations, that this was their first offence (prior to Mary's other action) and that their actions were not serious.
The judge fined them 300 Euro each. (remarkably he did not add his favourite sentence of banning them from Clare.)

Mr. Devane then asked the judge for the return of banners confiscated on June 26th.
He said that he had failed to make a formal application, even after consulting two barristers as they were unable to discover under what power the judge had confiscated them. He toldthe judge that he had acted "Ultra Vires" on the matter.
The judge scoffed at this.
He asked who owned the banners and if they were present. He was told that Mr. Rice was out of the country, that the expensive banner was owned by Caoimhe Butterly who is in Baghdad, and that the third item was the property of Tim Hourigan.
Mr Devane had a receipt and letter for the other two items which the judge did not look at but he asked Mr. Hourigan to the stand.
Tim asked if he was still sworn in or need to repeat it, but was not answered until he had asked a third time.
The judge asked him if he would describe the banner. Tim described the banner and the phrase "PIT STOP FOR DEATH" on it and stated that it was clearly described on the receipt they had received from the Gardai.
The judge then asked if Tim would give an assurance "not to hold the banner within the vicinty of the cour"
Tim asked him to define the vicinity of the court, and the judge said "look, you're not stupid, you know what the vicinity of the court is".
Tim replied that it was not a clear term and he asked honestly for clarification as to whether it included the car park outside, he said that he never had or would hold a banner inside the court.
After some confusion by the judge as to whether the tarmac area outside the court with ten cars in it was a car park (as opposed to the closed area at the back with the judge's car) judge mangan repeated his question "will you give an assurance not to hold a banner in the vicinity of the court?"

tim replied "I will give an assurance not to hold a banner designed or likely to lead to a breach of the peace or likely to interfere with the court"

-"that's not good enough" said the judge, "will you give an assurance not to hold a banner in the vicinity of the court?"

Tim paused for a second on the fate of his banner which reportedly cost all of 2 Euro to make.

"No judge".

The judge them ordered him off the stand.
With that the defendants and their supporters left the court en-masse, leaving only a handful or people inside with the judge.