Shannon, part of the U.S. conveyorbelt of death to the Middle-East

international | anti-war / imperialism | press release

Thursday October 14, 2004 22:36

by paul otoole

pauljotoole at eircom dot net

Press Release Re; The Retrial Of Nurse Mary Kelly in Ennis

Details of the re-trial of nurse kelly

MARY KELLY: THIRD TRIAL BEGINS NEXT WEEK

14 October, 2004

The second re-trail of Mary Kelly, human rights activist, will take place in Ennis Circuit Court, Ennis, Co Clare, at 10am on Wednesday, 20th October. This date will mark Ms Kelly s third appearance in an Irish courtroom on the same charge viz: That the accused did, on the 29th January, 2003 at Shannon Airport , North Shannon, Clare in the court area of Shannon district number 12, did (sic) without lawful excuse damage property, to wit, a United States Navy 737 aeroplane belonging to the Government of the United States, intending to damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property would be damaged, contrary to Section 2 of the Criminal Damage Act, 1991.

Several prominent international witnesses - who will be available for interview - are expected to arrive in Ennis early next week to testify in Ms Kelly s defence, including Denis Halliday, a former UN Assistant General Secretary.

Ms Kelly (51), a nurse and mother of four, who will be defending herself in court, is working for the best but is prepared for the worst. If convicted, she faces up to ten years in prison. As a concerned citizen, Ms Kelly s stance is that her action at Shannon Airport in January 2003 was justified because she intended to save human life and prevent warcrimes in Iraq by disarming the US plane. That action was also taken in defence of Ireland s traditional policy of neutrality which, she emphasises, has been abandoned by the present Government, as Shannon continues to be used as a refuelling stop for US warplanes.

The Nuremberg war-crimes tribunal of 1945-46 declared that Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience. Therefore (individuals) have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring.

The first trial in July 2003 resulted in a hung jury and brief reprieve for Ms Kelly. The Director of Public Prosecutions decided to re-convict her on the same charge. However, the second trial in June 2004 collapsed when Ms Kelly s legal counsel hastily resigned during the first morning s hearing.

As Ms Kelly has been denied legal aid to defray her mounting expenses to cover the cost of witnesses travel to Ireland for the third time in fifteen months, her supporters have set up a special fund-raising account for her. Named Peace Defence Fund, public contributions are most welcome. Send to:
International Bank Account Number (IBAN) IE 45ULSB 986020 5040 0007

Further information can be found on Ms Kelly s website
http://www.freewebs.com/mary_kelly

ENDS

Contact: Paul O Toole, mobile +353-(0)86 351 2469

This press release was issued by Fairview Against the War, supporters and friends of Mary Kelly. For further developments contact us at
fairviewantiwar@eircom.net

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Shannon, part of the U.S. conveyorbelt of death to the Middle-East