Jury urged to acquit US veterans accused of trespassing at Shannon Airport

A jury in the trial of two US army veterans accused of trespass and criminal damage at Shannon Airport has been urged to “be the lamp that shows freedom lives” and acquit them both.

In their evidence to the trial this week, both defendants acknowledged cutting a hole in the fence and walking onto the airport. They said they did so to protest against the United States’ military use of Shannon as a stop-over en route to and from areas such as the Middle East, where the military is involved.In his closing speech to the jury on Friday, Tony McGillicuddy BL, prosecuting, acknowledged the jury might have sympathy for the two defendants.

In relation to the charge of interfering with the operation, safety and management of an airport, Mr McGillicuddy submitted that the men’s presence on the taxiway at Shannon Airport caused the closure of the airport. Michael Hourigan BL, defending Mr Mayers, told the jury that the issue was the lawfulness of the actions of the two men and the honest and reasonable beliefs that they held.

In relation to the prosecution assertion that there were no arms on board the plane that day, Mr Huorigan noted that no airport official inspected the plane, nor was there a practice of inspecting US military planes at Shannon Airport.

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