Veteran protestor John Minto was back in court for the first
time in 20 years today to tell a judge there was no case to
answer after he was arrested for protesting at the ASB
Classic tennis tournament in Auckland last month.
Minto and seven others were arrested on charges of disorderly
behavior and obstructing police when they protested at the
presence of Israeli player Shahar Peer in the tournament.
They told Judge Chris Field in Auckland District Court they
were not guilty, there was no case to answer and they would
be applying to have the charges struck out.
They were all remanded to April for that application to be
heard and for a trial date in September.
Outside the court they said their application to have the
charges thrown out was on the basis that the charges lacked
the basic elements to be proven in court.
Minto, a veteran protester who gained an international
profile when he led a nationwide campaign to stop the
Springbok rugby team touring New Zealand in 1981, said he had
not been arrested for protest activity for 20 years.
He said the protesters believed they had a very strong case
to have the charges thrown out. Their protest was annoying
but not disruptive, he said.
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