ANTI-REAPER DRONE RESISTERS AT HANCOCK AIR BASE, ON TRIAL IN DEWITT, NY APRIL 18

Mary Anne Grady Flores gradyflores08@gmail.com


16 April 2013

PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Rae Kramer, 315) 445-2840 home or Ed Kinane, 315) 478-4571 home

www.upstatedroneaction.org

ANTI-REAPER DRONE RESISTERS AT HANCOCK AIR BASE, ON TRIAL IN DEWITT, NY APRIL 18

At 5 pm, Thursday, April 18, 2013, six anti-drone activists from across New York State will stand trial in the DeWitt Town Court.

Charged with Trespass for blocking the entrance of Hancock Air Base on October 5, 2012, the activists will go pro se, i.e. defend themselves, in this bench trial presided over by Judge Robert Jokl.



Along with four others (who are pleading guilty), the six sought on October 5 to deliver a citizens’ war crimes indictment [http://www.upstatedroneaction.org/flyers/WAR_CRIMES_INDICTMENT.pdf] to Hancock, the regional Reaper drone hub.



From Hancock the Reaper, a weaponized hunter/killer robot, is piloted over Afghanistan, killing and terrorizing non-combatants. The defendants have argued in previous trials that such terrorism violates international law and that their actions are in accord with the Nuremburg principles requiring citizens to expose their nation’s war crimes.



The October 5 action was one of about six such events conducted by the grassroots anti-drone group, Upstate Drone Action, over the last couple years. Besides this trial, two more such trials are in the offing at the DeWitt Town Court.



At a March 20 pre-trial hearing Judge Jokl told the defendants that those found guilty on April 18 would begin jail sentences that evening. Having found Upstate Drone Action defendants guilty of Trespass previously, the Judge may well follow through on his threat.



Those standing trial:



~ Jim Clune of Binghamton, 607) 773-0246 cell,



~ Brian Hynes of the Bronx, 718) 838-2636



~ Ed Kinane of Syracuse, 315) 478-4571 home



~ Julienne Oldfield of Syracuse, 315) 475-6251 home



~ Mark Scibilia-Carver of Trumansburg, 607) 387-3916 home, 607) 592-3713 cell



~ Martha Hennessey of New York City (now in Jordan)



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Sue Udry, Defending Dissent Foundation [mailto:sue.udry@defendingdissent.org]

Speak Up on Drones



Show up on Wed., April 23 at the hearing held by Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights -- Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killing. The hearing begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226 (room location is tentative; check Senate Judiciary Committee website to confirm – http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/).



A strong turnout at this hearing will send an important message (unfortunately, so will a small turnout). If you are in DC and can attend, please take a minute to RSVP (the hearing is currently scheduled to be held in a pretty small room -- but it can be switched to a larger room if enough people RSVP). RSVP by 5 p.m. today if possible.



If you can't come to the hearing, you can submit a statement to the committee. This does NOT need to be a long involved scholarly work. Chairperson Durbin invites advocates and stakeholders to offer their perspectives and experiences on the issue by submitting written testimony to be included in the hearing record. These statements help educate Committee members about the issue and are important to demonstrating community interest. Statements must be less than 10 pages, in PDF or Word Document form, and should be emailed to Stephanie Trifone at Stephanie_Trifone@Judiciary-dem.Senate.gov as early as possible, but no later than Monday, April 22, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Statements can be addressed to Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Cruz, and Members of the Subcommittee. Please note that the Subcommittee cannot accept previously published information as a statement for the record.

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Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 325 E. 25th St., Baltimore, MD 21218. Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/

"The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs