ANTI-WAR GROUPS yesterday welcomed the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal to overturn the conviction against peace activist Mary Kelly (56) for criminal damage to a US military aircraft.
A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Dublin yesterday said it would not be commenting on the court’s decision.
In October 2004, Ms Kelly was convicted of the damage to the aircraft at Shannon airport in January 2003. Her appeal was heard in July 2008.
Shannonwatch, a group which monitors foreign military activity at the airport, of which Ms Kelly was a member, described yesterday’s ruling as a “landmark decision”, but said the length of time taken to deliver it was worrying.
“The appeal judges offered no explanation as to why it took over 2½ years to deliver their judgment,” said Shannonwatch spokesman Edward Horgan.
He said the ruling reinforced the not-guilty decision in the trial in July 2006 of five other protesters also accused of damaging the same aircraft five days after Ms Kelly had damaged it.
Roger Cole of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance yesterday also welcomed the decision.
“Since 1996 the Peace and Neutrality Alliance has campaigned in favour of Irish independence, democracy and neutrality by exclusively peaceful and democratic means,” he said.
Ms Kelly had been convicted of causing $1.5 million of criminal damage to the US navy aircraft, although estimates of the cost of the damage given during the original trial ranged from €100,000 to €2.5 million.
