Airport protestors sentenced
16.12.06
Seventeen environmental protesters have each been given a 12-month conditional discharge after they pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated trespass. The group broke through a fence at East Midlands Airport and staged a protest near the runway in September.
The case against 5 other protestors, including a Baptist minister, who also admitted criminal damage, was adjourned for reports to be prepared. Another protestor was committed to Leicester Crown Court for breaching a previous conditional discharge.
The group, members of the campaign group Plane Stupid, said that the number of short-haul flights from East Midlands airport affected climate change. The court heard that the protest triggered a 'significant security breach' and caused problems for hundreds of passengers and airline staff.
Chairman of the bench Marian Whitby rejected calls from the police for the group to be handed anti-social behaviour orders banning them from going within 500 metres of an airport.
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