In a prosecution that has been condemned by human rights groups, Alistair Tamlit and Benjamin Smoke and the other members of the so-called Stansted 15 were convicted on Monday of endangering the safety of the airport in March 2017. They were found guilty under the 1990 Aviation and Maritime Security Act, a law passed in response to the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. “We were charged with endangering life but we took the actions at Stansted to try to protect life. “As a result of what we did 11 people who were on that flight are still in the UK appealing against their removals. Human rights organisations and observers had already expressed concerns over the choice of charge, which Kate Allen, the UK director of Amnesty International, likened to “using a sledgehammer to crack a nut”.

Source: The Guardian December 10, 2018 13:13 UTC