(UK) CRACKDOWN ON ANTI-CORPORATE DISSENT:THE ANIMAL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

During the past three years, the police and the Crown Prosecution
Service have launched a new campaign against anti-corporate animal
rights campaigns across the country. The crackdown has lead to the
imprisonment of activists linked to Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty
(SHAC) for a total of 50 years and the jailing of Sean Kirtley, who
was linked to the Stop Sequani Animal Torture Campaign (SSAT), for
four and a half years. The sentences, the charges and the nature of
the prosecutions have all been political. Public opposition to the
crackdown has been confounded by a media smokescreen thrown up by the
press releases churned out by the National Extremism Tactical
Coordination Unit (NETCU), portraying activists as ‘extremists’ and
disseminating misinformation. Many of those jailed have not committed
any conventional crime but have been targeted by new legislation
intended to counter the threat posed to the pharmaceutical industry by
effective direct action.

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full story:
http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=3405