Four residents of Lancaster charged with Aggravated Trespass after they entered Centros’ London offices and refused to leave were last week found Not Guilty. After a two day trial, the District Judge said she was satisfied that the protesters actions were peaceful and lawful.
Aurora Trujillo, one of the protestors, said “We’ve been acquitted, but we’ve still got the real battle ahead, to stop Centros turning Lancaster into one more Clone Town.”
All four had been involved in the formal planning process and the Carnival of Culture, but felt increasingly disempowered. The protesters were being prosecuted under a law introduced in 1994 as part of the Criminal Justice Act, which was directed at stopping various forms of direct action, such as hunt sabotage and anti-roads protesting. Since then, even more laws have been introduced to control and define protest.
Green Cllr Chris Coates was due to speak in court in defence of the protestors, but the case was dismissed before he was called to give evidence.
For more info on the trial, go to http://virtual-lancaster.blogspot.com/
