This landmark Appeal Court decision reinforces the unanimous not guilty decision in the trial by a Dublin jury on 25 July 2006 of the five Catholic Workers who were also accused of damaging the same aircraft five days after Ms Kelly had damaged it.
Ms Kelly is very pleased with the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal, but was critical of both the court’s delay in delivering the judgment and of a four year delay in producing a full and accurate transcript of her trial. She added “The real crime here is the continuing use of Shannon Airport by the US military and the CIA, and the fact that the Irish government have prevented the search of these aircraft by the Gardai and continue to do so”.
“Mary Kelly’s action at Shannon did not stop US military use of Shannon, other Irish airports and airspace but it did highlight this abuse of international law” according to the peace and human rights organization Shannonwatch. “Since 29 January 2003, over two million armed US troops have passed through Shannon airport on their way to and from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars are not in accordance with the UN Charter, and have resulted in violations of international humanitarian law including the Geneva Conventions. They have also directly resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, most of whom were innocent civilians. And if one considers the wider effects of the U.S. invasions, and the impact of sanctions that hurt everyone except the ruling elite in Iraq, the death toll probably extends to millions.”
US armed troops are still transiting through Shannon airport in 2011 at the rate of up to 500 soldiers each day. “By facilitating the U.S. military at Shannon Airport the Irish Government continues to be complicit in unjustified killing and suffering in Afghanistan” said Shannonwatch.
