GM Court Victory

A group of five GM crop pullers went on trial at Darlington Magistrate's Court for five days from 13 to 17 November 2000. In October 1999 the defendants had spent hours in torrential rain openly uprooting an entire crop (tennis court sized) of AgrEvo (now Aventis) GM oilseed rape in a field near Hutton Magna. All were charged with criminal damage and had produced signed statements to explain their actions.

The result: Judge Firth said the five GM crop pullers were guilty but honest and with positive motives. He said that any reasonable person would have pulled up more trial sites and much earlier! He said that AgrEvo and the farmer should not get any compensation. The defendants got a 12 month conditional discharge and £300 each court costs. The prosecution said sorry and she's given up GM food for the sake of her unborn twin babies. The crop pullers remain defiant.

There are other GMO-trashers still going through the court system. On 23 November, Rowan Tilly of the genetiX snowball campaign lost her case in the Court of Appeal at Ely, Cambridgeshire. She had contested her conviction of aggravated trespass last June for pulling up GM crops on 3 August 1999. Undeterred, she vows to continue to remove GM crops. The other defendants in the case, Jo Hamilton and Martin Shaw, have both received warrants for non-payment of their fines. Rowan Tilly stated that she has no intention of paying her fine either.

Contact: Rowan Tilly, P.O. Box 3279, Brighton, BN1 1TL, rowantilly@gn.apc.org