The
experiments -- the position in law
THE LEGALITY of Samar and Jawad's attempts to export to Palestinians in the
Occupied Territories information concerning the possible improvisation
of basic explosive mixtures from household products was not challenged by the
prosecution. Their legality was accepted and so it never became an issue at
the trial.
Nonetheless, the reader
may be interested in the legal position.
Quite simply, the experiments were not only ethically and politically justified,
they were also legally justified because they had the lawful object of self-defence.
Furthermore, it is also perfectly lawful to use reasonable force in the prevention
of crime. The Israeli occupying forces have committed vast number of individual
crimes in the Occupied Territories. There is also ample evidence that Israel
has committed gross breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Individuals guilty
of these gross breaches are triable in the UK thanks to the Geneva Conventions
Act 1957. Samar and Jawad genuinely believed that the know-how they hoped to
discover through their amateurish activities could help prevent these gross
breaches, and, as with the law relating to self-defence, it is what they believed
that matters.
But it is important to remember that Samar and Jawad were convicted of being
involved in the conspiracy behind the bombings at the Israeli Embassy and Balfour
House - not because of their experiments with improvised explosive mixtures
and remote controlled model aircraft.
Whether or not you approve of them or their activities, they are innocent of
the crimes for which they were convicted.
For a leaflet containing a fuller explanation of the law in relation to their
experiments, please contact the Freedom and Justice for Samar and Jawad campaign.
