The Raytheon 9 and the Derry Anti-War Coalition

1 April 2010
Anti-war activists in Derry, Northern Ireland, have been harassing a local plant of the U.S. arms manufacturer Raytheon for several years. In one action, nine people from the Derry Anti-War Coalition occupied the offices and destroyed over £350,000 of equipment. The saboteurs were charged with burglary and criminal damage, but the court permitted them to argue that they were acting to prevent war crimes, and after presenting evidence to support this argument, the defendants were acquitted of all charges by a unanimous jury. Raytheon’s U.S.-side managers concluded that “the legal system in Northern Ireland does not offer the degree of protection to their business that could be expected in other parts of the world,” and the company has decided to abandon their Derry plant!
Congratulations to the Raytheon 9 and to the Derry Anti-War Coalition.