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British Quaker Tries to Disarm Saudi Arabia-bound Fighter Jet, Ready for Being Jailed

British Quaker Tries to Disarm Saudi Arabia-bound Fighter Jet, Ready for Being Jailed
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A Quaker activist who was "just meters" from disarming Saudi Arabia-bound fighter planes with a hammer says he is prepared to spend up to 10 years in prison.

British Quaker Tries to Disarm Saudi Arabia-bound Fighter Jet, Ready for Being Jailed

Sam Walton and Methodist reverend Daniel Woodhouse were arrested on Sunday morning after allegedly breaking into the BAE Systems weapons base in Lancashire.

It was the pair's "last option" in their campaign for the Government to scrap arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of the Gulf state's bloody involvement in the Yemen civil war.

It comes before a judicial review next week where judges will decide whether to ban Britain's arms export licenses for the oil-rich kingdom.

"We did not want to be arrested, absolutely not, but did we expect to be and were we prepared to be? Absolutely," said Walton, speaking to The Independent.

He further added: "We went in thinking that was a likely outcome, and that we could be sentenced from six months to 10 years if found guilty.

"We have tried every other means of protest that is less chaotic and less damaging and I really don't want to go to prison but I'm absolutely prepared to in order to save the lives of innocent people."

The 30-year-old and Woodhouse were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and are on bail until 27 April when they may face charges.

The pair managed to get beyond fences, closed doors and sensors at the site in Warton, which they claim is home to four Typhoon jets and eight Hawks.

The former Wimbledon schoolboy and Nottingham University graduate said: "We were arrested just meters away from where planes bound for Saudi were and we were very disappointed that we couldn't disarm a plane going toward eastern war crimes and almost certainly have saved lives."

Symbolically, the pair entered the base precisely 21 years after four women - known as the Ploughshare Four - caused more than £1.5m in damage to a Hawk warplane at the same site.

The Hawk was destined for Indonesia where the women argued it would likely be used to kill civilians in East Timor.

The foursome were found not guilty of criminal damage at a Liverpool Crown Court after a jury deemed their action was reasonable under the Genocide Act.

In a concerted nod to continuity, Walton says the duo carried one of the hammers used by the women that he borrowed, which has since been confiscated by police.

"We didn't take the steps lightly but we really didn't have any other option left," said Walton, who has written to MPs and demonstrated in disarmament protests since he was 15.

"Selling arms to Saudi Arabia is a crime against humanity."

Walton, who says he does not have any criminal convictions, said: "Every time that this case is talked about, Saudi Arabia, Britain and BAE don't like it. It won't be us who are on trial, it will be them on trial and Saudi Arabia's actions in Yemen."

Walton also participated in a demonstration against the execution of three Shia Muslim men, convicted of killing an Emirati police officer, outside the Bahrain embassy earlier this month.

The UN Panel of Experts, the European Parliament and various humanitarian NGOs have condemned the on-going Saudi air strikes on Yemeni rebel areas.

The UN panel last year accused Saudi of "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilian targets.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade [CAAT] will take its legal challenge, of British arms licenses for Saudi Arabia, to the High Court in London on 7, 8, and 10 February.

CAAT revealed that the UK has licensed over £3.3bn worth of arms to Saudi Arabia since the bombing began in March 2015.

It stated that this includes £2.2bn on aircraft, helicopters and drones, £1.1bn on grenades, bombs, missiles and countermeasures, and £430,000 in armored vehicles and tanks.

The Saudi government has admitted it has used UK-manufactured cluster bombs, while Britain's foreign office admits that UK typhoons have been used in Yemen.

The war has displaced an estimated 2.5m people and martyred more than 10,000.

Andrew Smith, from CAAT, said: "For almost two years, Saudi Arabia has been using UK fighter jets in its bombing campaign in Yemen. The results have been catastrophic. Thousands have been killed and vital infrastructure has been destroyed.

"Sam and Dan took fully justified action against the UK's complicity in the devastation. How can it be justice when they are facing charges while BAE Systems is making billions of pounds from shifting its deadly weapons to Saudi Arabia, one of the most brutal and oppressive regimes in the world, while it bombs one of the poorest countries in the region?

"If the Government cares about the rights and lives of Yemeni people then it must do what Sam and Dan tried to do, and stop the arms sales."

A BAE spokesman said: "The incident at our site in Warton is being investigated by Lancashire Police and we are assisting them with their enquiries."

Source: The Independent, Edited by website team

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