Peace Activist Sentenced to 28 Days

by: Tuva Ravn Eggan/ David Mackenzie

Britain: On 2 April a Justice of the Peace at Cumnock District Court sentenced anti-Trident activist Sue Brackenbury to 28 days in prison for refusing to pay fines or comply with a Supervised Attendance Order.

Sue (26), from Ayrshire, had refused to pay outstanding fines totalling £250 imposed for taking part in protests against Trident at Faslane and Devonport naval bases and the court had imposed a Supervised Attendance Order (SAO) of 50 hours. The court made the Order although Sue made it clear she would not obey, and it persisted with it in spite of a report from Social Services stating that it was completely inappropriate.

Sue is likely to serve 14 days of the 28 days sentence. In Cornton Vale she will join fellow Trident Ploughshares member Ulla Roder who is on remand for damaging a Tornado aircraft at Leuchars airbase on the 11 March.

A Trident Ploughshares spokesperson said: “The Justice ought to be ashamed of this pointless and mean-spirited sentence. A Supervised Attendance Order, properly used, can be a socially useful alternative to prison but imposing one on someone who said she would breach it looks like a ploy for increasing the time in jail. By the normal rules applying to unpaid fines the sentence would have been only 14 days, while a longer sentence is allowed for a breach of an SAO.”

Contacts: David Mackenzie (+44 870 458 3117, +44 787 659 3016)
Jane Tallents (+44 845 458 8367)
(email; media@tridentploughshares.org, http://www.tridentploughshares.org)