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Socialist Lawyer issue 51

As I write in early January, the news is dominated by Israel’s immoral and unlawful war on the inhabitants of Gaza. The Haldane Society condemns unequivocally Israel’s willingness to kill civilians, to carry out indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, and to punish a whole community for the actions of its political leadership. Israel’s actions constitute war crimes. In solidarity with our comrades in the Palestinian human rights community, we urge the United Nations to take action against Israel’s continued flouting of international humanitarian law, and to impose sanctions on Israel. We condemn violence against civilians in all circumstances, whether those civilians are Palestinian, Israeli or from any other country. However, the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel cannot justify Israel’s air strikes and ground invasion of Gaza. The two are not comparable.

We also condemn the Egyptian government for its failure to open the borders and provide a safe haven to the inhabitants of Gaza fleeing the war.

Almost as shocking as the actions of the Israeli government has been the response of US and UK leaders, and above all the silence of President-Elect Barak Obama. Real ‘change we can believe in’ would be an acknowledgement from an Obama White House that there will not be peace in the Middle East without justice for the Palestinians, and an immediate ban on all arms sales to the Israeli government.

Elsewhere in the world, we celebrate 50 years since the Cuban Revolution. It’s an extraordinary achievement to have retained anavowedly socialist state despite the US blockade, attempts to destabilise the government, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba’s ally. Cuba’s gains in health and education are testament to the commitment of the Cuban people to their revolution and also to their internationalism. Cuba shares its medical expertise and resources with poor people around the world, generously and unstintingly. There can be no question but that the US should drop the blockade, unconditionally, and recognise Cuban sovereignty. Separately, many human rights activists would also hope that the Cuban government would consider the introduction of multi-party democratic elections and the freedom of the press.

The Haldane Society has followed the inquest into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes closely. At a packed Christmas party on 4th December, we listened to a first hand account of the events at the inquest as the coroner withdrew the option of an unlawful killing verdict from a jury. We note that there was a conflict of evidence between the police officers on the scene, who said that warnings had been given and that Jean Charles stood up and moved towards them, and everyone else who was in the carriage at the time. The jury believed the passengers, not the police officers. It seems to us that, if the police felt the need to give such unreliable evidence, the conflict of evidence in itself should be sufficient for a jury to have the option of an unlawful killing verdict.

The jury’s open verdict, rejecting the alternative of lawful killing, is a vindication for the tenacity of the de Menezes family and their supporters. It is also a vindication of juries remaining in inquests, which the government was all set to abolish where so-called ‘national security’ was at stake. As senior lawyers, senior policemen and politicians lined up to defend the coroner, and express surprise at the jury’s verdict, the gulf between public opinion and establishment opinion was obvious.

2008 was a good year for the jury system, and for reminding us why juries are so important. In the summer, a Belfast jury acquitted the Raytheon 9. Raytheon is the fifth largest arms manufacturer in the world, the largest manufacturer of guided missiles and has a software plant in Derry. Its software guided the missiles used by Israel in its war against Lebanon in 2006. In direct response to the Qana massacre (where 28 civilians, half of them children, were killed in a bunker), nine peace activists including the socialist writer Eamonn McCann occupied the Raytheon software plant in Derry, and destroyed computers and documents. They were open and straightforward about their actions and argued that they had sought to prevent complicity in war crimes. The jury unanimously agreed.

We are fortunate that Eamonn McCann is addressing Haldane’s first human rights lecture of 2009, on 29th January.

In the autumn, six Greenpeace activists were acquitted by a jury of the charge of causing criminal damage to Kingsnorth power station. Like the Raytheon 9, they made no attempt to conceal their actions but argued that they were seeking to prevent a greater crime, that of climate change. The jury agreed. Finally, in December, came the de Menezes open verdict.

It’s cases like this that remind us how valuable the jury system is. Professionals in the justice system, even the most radical ones, can become case-hardened. The legal establishment rubs shoulders with the political and financial establishment. The rewards of legal practice mean that many lawyers (although not legal aid lawyers) have no understanding of life on an average wage. There is considerable professional pressure not to step out of line, or take risks. Thank goodness for juries, who approach cases with open minds, common sense and, according to everyone I’ve ever met who has done jury service, a real determination to come to the just decision.

As ever, the challenges for every socialist remain great. But the events in Gaza once again demonstrate the importance of solidarity, organisation and unity in action, in the face of those who seek to govern, rule and kill with arrogance and apparent impunity.

Liz Davies, chair, HaldaneSociety lizdavies@riseup.net