I don’t think you have to be particularly hawkish, or unsympathetic towards those concerned about the use of drones, to find Judge John Stobart’s response to the protestors who shut down an RAF base a bit odd.
The six protesters broke into RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, the home of 13 Squadron, which pilots the unmanned drones, and planted a peace garden of a fig tree and a vine.
The judge described the six as “dutiful people” and said it was only with a “heavy heart” he found them guilty of criminal damage to the base.
The protesters argued that the use of unmanned drones, operating from the base, is a breach of international law and they accused the British Government of war crimes. They spent over half an hour walking around the base distributing leaflets and taking photographs as well as planting a peace garden of a fig tree and a vine.
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District Judge Stobart said: “I find, and not without some hesitation, that the lack of proximity or relationship between the defendants and those in Afghanistan who may be either targeted or hit accidentally by these drones is insufficient. I therefore, with a very heavy heart, find all the defendants guilty.”
He said he would welcome an appeal.
If you use bolt croppers to break into an RAF base it seems reasonable to expect some kind of punishment (in this case a fine). Whether or not the cause is a good one (in the eyes of the Judge or anyone else) isn’t really the issue.
