Oxford Protestor Faces Jail
Owen English, a student at St Catherine's and a prominent member of Oxford Students Stop the War (OSSTW), was last week charged with committing £12,000 of criminal damage at an anti-war demonstration at R.A.F. Fairford on February 23. The implication is that he single-handedly pulled down an eight-foot fence.
Last week, over two months after the event, the CID summoned English to the police station, where he was held for nearly eight hours before being charged. His plea hearing followed on May 1 at Oxford Magistrates' Court, but was adjourned until next week after the prosecution failed to attend. The maximum jail sentence for a crime of this type is ten years.
A coach-load of Oxford students joined the protest in question in February, where five Oxford 'Weapons Inspectors', including English, managed to enter the R.A.F. base before being escorted out by the police. From around 450 protesters, a total of 13 were arrested, of which two were cautioned, one was released without charge and ten were released on police bail with the order to report back in March, pending further enquiries. Shortly after his attempts to enter the base, - the launch point for B52 bombers - English commented: "The authorities were extremely un-cooperative and blocked further access."
Members of the OSSTW movement, including English, also attended another direct action protest at R.A.F. Fairford on March 9 where more damage to the fence was reported.
Shortly afterwards, two non-University members of the Oxford anti-war group, Toby Olditch and Philip Pritchard, broke into Fairford and were jailed without bail, charged with aggravated trespass, conspiracy to cause damage and intent to cause damage. Members of OSSTW will visit the pair in jail this weekend in solidarity.
It appears that the authorities have waited until the end of the war to take more serious action against English, and perhaps are using his case as a warning to other aspiring protesters. An email was sent out by OSSTW last Wednesday, encouraging solidarity amongst their campaigners. It proclaimed: "It is quite clear that the police are moving against protestors now that the conflict is over, in the hope that the solidarity that was so obvious in this movement will have disappeared. We intend to show them that they are very wrong."
Neither English nor any other members of the Oxford University Stop the War Coalition were prepared to comment on the matter, not wishing to jeopardise the outcome of English's forthcoming trial.
8th May 2003