| LOS ANGELES
- July 19 - Greenpeace has condemned as brutal and unnecessary the actions of the United States government in demanding that all but one of the foreign nationals involved in Saturday night's protest of the missile defense system be forced to stay in prison until their trial.
The U.S. government attorney has filed an appeal against Monday's ruling which had allowed all the defendants bail, but with restrictions put on their movements and their passports seized. The prosecution has not made clear the grounds for the appeal, but had previously indicated they believed there was a chance that if they were released they would leave the country.
The motion is due to be heard this morning (Thursday, July 19) at 10:00AM (PDT). If it is granted, all may be kept in federal jail until their trial. The activists and an independent photographer come from the UK, Sweden, Australia, Germany, India and Canada.
"This is a disgrace. To claim that these activists will flee the country is nonsense. The reason they are in prison in the first place is because the government is trying to suppress legitimate opposition to George Bush's Star Wars program," said Greenpeace Executive Director John Passacantando. "The conditions that these men are being held in are appalling. They are housed in a maximum-security facility, 30 prisoners to a cell and one open toilet for all. The governments from all these nations must demand the original bail conditions are respected, and stop this brutal attempt to silence peaceful, non violent protestors," he added.
So far all but one of the U.S citizens has been released on restricted bail conditions as well as a Spanish videographer who was independently documenting the action. The non-U.S nationals are due for release on bail in the next 24-36 hours when the paperwork had been completed.
Notes to editors: The appeal will be heard at Judge Roybal Federal court, 255 East Temple Street, room 670.
The charges against all the defendants are : Conspiracy to violate a safety zone is a Class D felony charge and carries a minimum 5 years jail term, and a maximum ten years jail. It could also carry a fine of up to $250,000. Either could be imposed singly or jointly. Failure to adhere to commander's instructions is a Class A misdemeanor and carries a maximum one year jail term and a maximum $5,000 fine Both sentences can run consecutively.
###
|
