Australian Ploughshares Four acquitted

IssueJuly - August 2010
News by Milan Rai

On 16 June, acquittals were handed out to four Australians who broke into a top secret spy base on Swan Island, Victoria, and disrupted satellite communications with Australian troops operating in Afghanistan.

Christian peace activists Jacob Bolton, Jessica Morrison, Simon Moyle, and Simon Reeves told Geelong court that they were pleading guilty, not out of a sense of emotional guilt, but because they wanted to take full responsibility for their actions.

Having heard statements from the defendants regarding the war in Afghanistan, their faith, and the history of civil disobedience, chief magistrate Ronald Saines used section 19B of the Commonwealth Crimes Act to dismiss all charges. The defendants and their supporters then carried out a die-in at Swan Island: nine were arrested.

Topics: Anti-war action