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going to be back in court on tuesday for long awaited stansted 15 appeal. feeling pretty stressed+anxious tbh. its a particularly weird time for it to happen. if you don't know what s15 is, or want a reminder, heres a thread on the action, trial(s)+what'll be happening next week:
caveat: i have to be *extremely* careful about what i say. there will be gaps in this story+ this thread because of that. they are intentional.
everything i say here, any opinions i express etc are my own+should be regarded+reported as such. i'm not speaking for the collective
everything i say here, any opinions i express etc are my own+should be regarded+reported as such. i'm not speaking for the collective
to begin at the beginning. on march 27th 2017 i, along with 14 other people, cut through the fence at stansted airport and in a quiet part of the airport, locked ourselves to a plane due to deport around 55 people to nigeria and ghana later that night. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/29/arrests-as-stansted-anti-deportation-protesters-lock-themselves-to-plane
we knew of several people who were due to be on the flight who were incredibly vulnerable and at risk, including this woman who said "My ex-husband said he knows I am being deported next week. He is waiting for me. He is planning to kill me." https://detainedvoices.com/2017/03/27/my-ex-husband-said-he-knows-i-am-being-deported-next-week-he-is-waiting-for-me-he-is-planning-to-kill-me/
we locked on around the plane and stayed in place for as long as we could- self-releasing or being cut off one by one. the last of us was removed at around 8am. though we were a fair distance from the runway, they shut it down for about an hour + a half (this is important later)
once we were off, we were arrested+ sent to cop shops across the county of essex. i was at harlow and was booked in around 5am. it would be around 1am the next day before i was released on bail, having been charged with aggravated trespass, criminal damage and a stansted by-law
we were due to appear in magistrates in september 2017 for a 6 day trial which is what we'd expected. the maximum sentence we could receive was 3 months in prison. we settled down to wait for the date.
in june 2017 we received news the CPS were considering upping our charge to a much more serious one. the new charge, included in aviation + maritime security act 1990 was so severe, they needed the permission of the then attorney general (a sitting member of cabinet) to bring it.
the act was brought in in the aftermath of lockerbie, to domesticise the montreal protocol around violent acts of terrorism. introducing it to parly, transport sec cecil parkinson said it'd be "another weapon in the battle [against terrorism]…
helping to combat international terrorism in the sky and at sea". anyone found to have helped/celebrated someone committing an act contrary to it can be prosecuted under the terrorism act 2006. the charge- endangering safety at an aerodrome, carried with it a max, life sentence
it seemed entirely ludicrous at the time, so i put it to the back of my mind. surely, SURELY, even they wouldn't charge us with terror offences for what is quite evidently a peaceful protest?
(i think you can see where this is going next)
(i think you can see where this is going next)
in july 2017 we received the news that the attorney general ( Jeremy Wright MP) had given consent to charge us with the new, terror-related charge.
importantly, we still do not know under what grounds he made this decision. there was no new evidence. no smoking gun (or any gun)
importantly, we still do not know under what grounds he made this decision. there was no new evidence. no smoking gun (or any gun)
we have no idea how//why he made the decision (i have some theories 
), all we know is he made it.
suddenly, instead of a 6 day trial at a magistrates, we were faced with a full jury trial at a crown court with a potential life sentence.
), all we know is he made it.suddenly, instead of a 6 day trial at a magistrates, we were faced with a full jury trial at a crown court with a potential life sentence.
we were scheduled to stand trial in march 2018. after weeks of delays, it finally started only to be abandoned 3 days later. it's not wise for me to go into the specifics of what happened but it was fucked up and, imo, very much a sign of what was to come.
the trial was rescheduled and began on october 1st 2018. after 10 very long weeks we were convicted by unanimous verdict on December 10th 2018. the judge deferred sentence until feb 6th 2019, but told us 'all options are on the table'.
10 weeks is a long time, and a lot of shit went down during trial. i'm not going to go into it here but if you're interested i wrote about some of it for vice last year: https://www.vice.com/en/article/zmp448/my-trial-as-one-of-the-stansted-15-taught-me-a-sad-lesson-about-the-uk-justice-system
the day after our conviction there was a huge demo outside the home office in support of us and demos across the country in the weeks after.
On feb 6th, we all arrived at court with bags packed for prison. to say it was a stressful and upsetting day would be an understatement.
On feb 6th, we all arrived at court with bags packed for prison. to say it was a stressful and upsetting day would be an understatement.
we were spared prison, being handed a selection of suspended sentences and community service orders.
we'd put in our paperwork to appeal the conviction almost immediately.
we'd put in our paperwork to appeal the conviction almost immediately.
at this point, it's prudent to say this.
our conviction was wrong.
charging us with terror offences was wrong.
11 people who were supposed to be on the flight that night are still in the country. at least one has been found to be a victim of trafficking+ been granted asylum
our conviction was wrong.
charging us with terror offences was wrong.
11 people who were supposed to be on the flight that night are still in the country. at least one has been found to be a victim of trafficking+ been granted asylum
there are those who were supposed to be on the flight that night who got to see their kids born because it was stopped. who are able to study and live their lives in relative safety because it was stopped. what we did was necessary and it was right.
next week we're appealing our conviction on a number of grounds. it's not prudent for me to go into them in any great detail - there are much smarter and more eloquent people than me readying themselves to make the arguments for us in court this weekend
for me the key points are thus: we were justified in what we did. it was necessary. we should never have been convicted. we should never have been charged with terror legislation. serious questions need to be asked about why we were BUT..
the most serious questions need to be reserved for why the home office was choosing to deport people who had a legitimate, valid+ LEGAL right to be in this country. ppl who had been the victims of trafficking. ppl who were at very risk of serious violence bc of their sexuality.
next week there are big issues at play, which i, and i’m sure others, will talk more about at a different time. it’s a big deal and i’m nervous and feeling the weight of it.
the appeal will start at around 10:30 on tuesday morning, and will run until thursday lunch.
the appeal will start at around 10:30 on tuesday morning, and will run until thursday lunch.
both our lawyers, and the lawyers for the crown will speak across 5 grounds of appeal. i've been told that, more likely than not, the judges will reserve judgement, meaning we won't find out the actual result for many weeks.
this thread has been long, and i'm anxious to wrap it up but wanted to finish by saying a couple of things.
wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone (there have been fucking thousands of you) who have supported us in one way or another. we're not in prison because of you.
wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone (there have been fucking thousands of you) who have supported us in one way or another. we're not in prison because of you.
on a personal note, not to get too morbid but, i am still here because of many of you and the personal support and love you've given me over the last (almost) 5 years (!!!). it's weird that we don't get to mark this next chapter together because of well... *the world*
there is SO much more to say about SO much of this, but if i speak etc.
i’ll be tweeting updates of the proceedings from court, so keep an eye out if you’re interested in what’s going on.
(also be tweeting cute pics of me in my suit. one like= one prayer for our exoneration)
i’ll be tweeting updates of the proceedings from court, so keep an eye out if you’re interested in what’s going on.
(also be tweeting cute pics of me in my suit. one like= one prayer for our exoneration)
thanks for reading. for your support. for your kind messages so far. if i’m not that responsive over the next few days ^ this is why, but i’ll see you all on the other side!
tysm for all the replies, rts, messages of support etc. sorry i haven’t replied to every one yet, been logged off and soaking in a bath and chill vibes all evening (hence the dopey expression). you’re all great and life giving 
solidarity forever 
solidarity forever
