Samuel Land, left and Adrian Leason were acquitted
yesterday
A lobby group has called for the Waihopai spy base to be
closed following the acquittal of three activists yesterday on
charges of vandalising the base near Blenheim.
Adrian Leason, Peter Murnane and Sam Land admitted they broke
into Waihopai and slashed an inflatable plastic dome covering
a satellite dish, but pleaded not guilty to wilful damage and
burglary charges because they believed their actions were
lawful.
A jury in Wellington District Court took only two hours to
find them not guilty after a trial lasting eight days.
The Waihopai base is operated by the Government
Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), which has not yet
commented on the verdict.
Green MP Keith Locke said the acquittal was a victory for the
peace movement, which has campaigned for the closure of the
base.
"I hope that the not guilty verdict will help break down the
blanket of secrecy that successive governments have imposed
around the operations of the base, and its true purpose," he
said.
The Christchurch-based Anti-Bases Campaign went further,
calling for prosecution of the base operators for crimes
against humanity.
Spokesman Murray Horton said the "Domebusters" had believed
they had the law on their side and were proud of what they
did.
"They did it because Waihopai operates, in all but name, as
an outpost of US intelligence on NZ soil..." he said.
He said the base should be closed immediately.
Murnane, a Dominican friar who represented himself throughout
the trial, said outside the court, he believed the satellite
aided crimes against humanity.
"I had to do this, it was necessary for me," he said.
"We wanted, in going into Waihopai, to challenge these
warfaring behaviours and I think we have done this," he said.
"We have shown New Zealanders there is a US spy base in our
midst."
Crown prosecutor Glen Marshall said the men deliberately and
intentionally damaged the satellite cover hoping, rather than
believing, their actions were lawful.
"It's not a belief, it's something less -- a hope, an
expectation, an opportunity,"
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