Ghosts of the Iraq War Trial:

 

Human Rights Advocates On Trial

for Nonviolent Witness at US Senate 

 

Pace e Bene Washington DC Area Associate Judith Kelly one of ten defendants was found not guilty by jury on October 24th, 2008

 

 

Here is an email this evening (Thursday, October 23) from Judith Kelly.  Her opening statement is attached below.

"Hey, the jury is still out….they deliberated from 9:30 till after 4, with two notes (questions) sent out to the judge that had to be argued among the lawyers, but it seems like a good sign, like they can’t decide unananimously what to do with all ten of us.  The testimony of one of the officers who claimed he arrested 8 of us in Gallery 7 was impugned by two of us who are certain that he didn’t. I was in Gallery 6 and another officer took me away before I said anything…might be grounds for my charges being dropped.
 
There’s a more ominous piece here: the government turned over (under duress and after they’d rested their case) an intelligence report that included a private email of one of our defendants, describing the action, doctored to look like it had come off the Common Dreams site.  We believe it’s a sign of spying and there’s plenty of grist for that because activist groups in Maryland were infiltrated by the state police and they may have shared this info with the Capitol police…
 
Blessings, Judith

 

Click here to download Judith Kelly’s opening statement.