Not Guilty fur farm verdict

ELP Information Bulletin (30th August 2007)

Dear friends

ELP has just received good news about an Austrian animal rights
activist being found Not Guilty by a Finnish Court after the activist
was caught filming inside a fur farm.

Below is a press release about the case:

Austrian activist found not guilty in fur farm trial in Finland

Verdict puts a stop to the criminalisation of legitimate animal
rights activism,
the activist says

In autumn 2003, 3 Austrian animal rights activists went to film fur farms in
Finland in order to inform the public on the conditions in these facilities.
The activists were attacked by fur farmers and arrested by police, held 3 days
in police custody and questioned. A Finnish activist suspected of
aiding the 3 had his home raided by police. Media and authorities brandished
the activistsas dangerous terrorists and the arrests as an important victory
to prevent a threat to national security. Eventually, two men were charged
with intrusion and spying on fur farms.

On 20th August 2007 the appeal court convened in Vaasa. The 3  judges heard
all the evidence of the activist explaining how he filmed on the fur farms and
delivered their verdict today: not guilty!

Dr. Martin Balluch, the Austrian activist found not guilty today, comments:
„For the democratic process in society to reach a decision on the
issue of fur farming, it is vital that the public is fully informed on what
fur farming means for the animals involved. In Austria, in 1998 Parliament
banned fur farming and all farms were closed down. For a similar democratic
decision in Finland and elsewhere, film footage of the conditions on fur farms
must be made public. We did nothing but provide this service to the community
– and were attacked by fur farmers, arrested by police and slandered by media and
authorities. The strategy of criminalising legitimate protest and investigative
work to make the conditions on fur farms public, is truly undemocratic and
should worry anyone believing in the freedom of speech and in the democratic
process. This verdict should now put a stop to this vendetta against people
being concerned about how society treats animals in their name.”

And he continues: “The Finnish tax payer will have put about 30.000 Euro into
this case. And that for no other reason than to stop pictures of Finnish fur
farms going public, i.e. for preventing the public to see the truth. This
verdict should send a clear message to the authorities and to fur farmers: it
is not just necessary and legitimate to investigate and publisize the
conditions on fur farms, it is fully legal as well. Those concerned citizens,
who sacrifice their valuable time and resources on behalf of society, to get
the evidence to trigger the democratic decision process on whether
certain ways of treating animals should be banned or not, must be applauded, not
harassed and threatened. Their actions are important contributions for our
society to develop more compassionate, caring and respecting forms of relationships
with animals. I should hope that the police have learned their lesson and change
their prejudices against animal rights activists.”

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Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network
BM Box 2407
London
WC1N 3XX
England
www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk