Home | Friday 6th June 2008 | Issue 634

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Following a lengthy police investigation and an 18-week trial costing over £4.5 million, (see SchNEWS 632) Sean Kirtley, the operator of a website criticising animal testing company Sequani, has been jailed for four and a half years for conspiring to organise otherwise legal protests. On release he faces a five year ASBO designed to restrict his political activities. The main planks of evidence against him were text messages and evidence that he had maintained a campaign website.

A spokesman from the campaign told SchNEWS “Aside from the disproportionate sentence, the trial has serious implications for the freedom of the internet and civil liberties in this country. A precedent has now been set that simply publishing details or sharing information about a protest can be used as evidence that the publisher is the organiser of the event. Worse still, someone can be locked up under SOCPA for an extended period of time for simply organising a legal protest in which, according to hearsay, someone else committed an offence.” So-called Human Rights organisation Liberty have been totally uninterested in this issue, which makes SchNEWS wonder what they are for!

Sean was found guilty under Section 145 of the SOCPA law for “Interfering with the contractual relationships of a Laboratory” for allegedly organising protests at Sequani Limited and associated business associates.

The catch-all nature of the conspiracy case meant the prosecution case could allege that any crime associated with the campaign could be laid at Sean’s door. However there has been very little actual criminality associated with the campaign against Sequani. No arson, no assaults, no serious criminal damage, no demonstrations outside people’s homes. There were minor incidences of mischief targeted at Sequani’s suppliers such as the supergluing of locks.

NETCU’s* website wasted no time in gloating over the sentence saying “Kirtley is a dedicated animal rights activist who devoted a significant part of his life to leading an organised, systematic and sustained campaign to target Sequani Ltd with the ultimate aim of closing the company down... This included protests and demonstrations, harassment and intimidation of staff at Sequani and its partners and neighbouring premises, criminal damage, assault, annoying communications and letter writing campaigns.” - However there were never any allegations of assault made during the 18 week case and there is not one shred of evidence linking Sean to any criminal activities. And since when was protest and letter writing a criminal offence? Oh since the passing of the SOCPA law in 2005.

Sean’s solicitor Mike Schwartz said: “This case sadly goes to show that animal rights campaigners have been singled out and ordinary criminal law principles have been contorted simply because, in the Government’s eyes, powerful commercial interests, founded on animal experimentation, are at risk from effective, open and popular protests.”

Stop Sequani told us “Most importantly, the case has serious repercussions for the freedom of publishing protest information on the net and the right to protest peacefully, particularly where commercial interests are concerned. It is also extremely relevant in the light of upcoming “terror legislation” because it demonstrates mission creep - how the SOCPA law, enacted under the pretext of protecting the public from terrorists, is now being used to silence non-violent protesters.”

Write to Sean: Sean Kirtley WC 6977, HMP Blakenhurst, Hewell Lane, Redditch, B97 6QS

* National Extremism Tactical Co-ordinating Unit – the anti-activist political police www.netcu.org.uk

* Information on Sean: http://supportsean.wordpress.com and other animals right’s prisoners: www.vpsg.org

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