Ongoing court-cases for census refusers

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A number of court-cases for census refusers are now underway. Below we publish a list of some of the defendants’ case details, shared with us by the NoCONcensus campaign group:

Thursday 8th December, 10am.

Liverpool Magistrates Court.

107 Dale Street. Liverpool L2 2JQ. (Nearest station Moorfields.)
Sarah Ledsom of Bromborough, Wirral.

This is the first hearing. See the call-out for the solidarity action on the 8th here.

Tuesday 13th December, 10am.

Reading Magistrates Court, Castle Street, Reading RG1 7TQ.

Deborah Glass Woodin of Oxford.

This is the first hearing.

Thursday 5th January, 10am.

Birmingham Magistrates Court, Victoria Law Courts, Corporation Street, Birmingham B4 6QA.

Roger Grenville of Leamington Spa.

This is the first hearing.

Tuesday 10th January, 10am.
Monday 16th January.

Sheriff Clerk’s Office, Sheriff Court of Glasgow and Strathkelvin, PO BOX 23, 1 Carlton Place, Glasgow G5 9DA. (map)

Barbara Dowling of Glasgow.

Tuesday’s hearing is an Intermediate Diet, so it will mainly be concerned with technical matters. Although it will be particularly important to have strong support for Barbara at the Trial Diet scheduled for the following week, support at the Intermediate Diet is also important and could help to make sure that the court takes Barbara’s case seriously.

More information: 07936432519 or 07786630764

Some more information about the defendants

SARAH LEDSOM

Sarah Ledsom, 56, of Bromborough, Wirral, a grandmother who suffers with a disabling chronic condition, is due to appear at the Magistrates Court in Liverpool on Thursday 8th December. Sarah’s objections to completing the census relate to the contract with arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin for processing census data. Sarah refers in particular to the use by Israel of deadly Lockheed Martin weaponry on the people of Palestine.

“My conscience will not, cannot condone what is happening to the good people of Palestine, innocent men, women and children being murdered by arms provided by Lockheed Martin to Israel. The very same Lockheed Martin who were given the contract to oversee the census 2011. On Thursday 8th of December I will be pleading not guilty as I will not be part of the collusion against Palestine. I will refuse to pay any fine and am more than prepared to go to prison. This is not about me; this is about the corruption and collusion going on between the UK/US/Israel against the innocent Palestinians and I am standing against it. Will you stand with me and all census resisters?”

See the Indymedia post.

DEBORAH GLASS WOODIN

Deborah Glass Woodin of Oxford, green activist, mother of two and widow of Mike Woodin who was Leader of the Oxford City Council Green Group and Principal Spokesperson for the national Green Party, is due in Reading Magistrates Court on Tuesday 13th December at 10am.

Following a pattern with all cases we’ve seen so far, her case will not be heard at her local magistrates court, but at one miles away in Reading. Inconvenient for Deborah, but nicely situated for Aldermaston anti-nuclear activists! Lockheed Martin jointly runs Aldermaston AWE as well as having a £5.3 billion contract with the government to develop new illegal weapons of mass destruction there.

Deborah has given four reasons for her census refusal:

“1) The link with Lockheed Martin (brought to my attention through printing a leaflet about it at Oxford Greenprint Workers Co-op of which I am a member)

2) The statement on the front of the form about using the information to help decide where schools and hospitals should be built: I wish this were true, but these decisions are driven by money, not need (as my time on both Councils has shown).

3) The number of questions not related in any way to anything but ‘big brother’ monitoring, e.g. religion, nationality.

4) The Census in this form is to be scrapped (Daily Telegraph, June 2010). It only ran this time because contracts had been signed and heavy losses would have been incurred. It is acknowledged to be a hugely inefficient way of collecting this data.”

She also says: “I was an active Green Party member for many years and have been a City and County Councillor for the Greens in Oxford. I have always been an activist and until recently believed that the best way to change the world was working with the system. I feel somewhat more cynical and less naive now!”

See the Indymedia post.

ROGER GRENVILLE

Roger Grenville, 66, a former Local Government Officer and local Councillor from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, is in court in Birmingham on 5th January.

Roger Grenville: “I did state to the officer who initially visited me to chase up the form that I was not completing it because of the involvement of Lockheed Martin. When I was later interviewed under caution at home by two Enforcement Officers, I again repeated that I was refusing to complete this year’s Census on grounds of conscience because of the involvement of Lockheed Martin.

“I have no intention of paying any fine or any costs. As a taxpayer I have already contributed to Lockheed Martin’s profits and it is not my intention to give them another penny. Perfectly happy to be given a custodial sentence in lieu of fine.”

See the Indymedia post.

BARBARA DOWLING

Countless Scots have either failed to fill in their census forms or returned them partially completed or improved by critical comments, but have not been prosecuted. Barbara’s victimisation is inexplicable.

Barbara will also be in court on 25 Jan over non-payment of a fine incurred for blockading Faslane nuclear submarine base. Barbara is refusing to pay the fine and risks a jail sentence: 10am 25th January, Dumbarton Sheriff Court – support in court welcome.

Other News

Some refusers’ cases have already gone to court. Indymedia hosts photos (2) of the solidarity action for Judith Sambrook’s court hearing on 11th November, as well as this more general post about the commencement of prosecutions against census boycotters.