A group of activists who broke into an arms factory in Britain were found not guilty of causing criminal damage

In a lawsuit filed in October 2009, seven British activists claimed they were legally justified to break in and sabotage the factory of EDO MBM Technology near Brighton, on the south coast of England, in January 2009, at the time of Operation Cast Lead. Believing that the company was violating export license regulations and sending arms components to Israel, the activists, from a group called Smash EDO, said they wanted to slow down the manufacture of components that were being sold to the Jewish state. The protesters threw computers and file cabinets out of the factory windows and smashed machinery using hammers, saying that they were seeking to prevent Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The 7 activists admitted breaking in and causing the damage but were acquitted when the jury found them not guilty of conspiring to cause criminal damage. The activists used the lawful excuse defense – committing an offense to prevent a more serious crime because EDO was complicit in Israeli war crimes.