Welcome to Peace News, the newspaper for the UK grassroots peace and justice movement. We seek to oppose all forms of violence, and to create positive change based on cooperation and responsibility. See more
"Peace News has compiled an exemplary record... its tasks have never been more critically important than they are today." Noam Chomsky
Catholic Worker in prison
Also in this Issue
On 1 May Fr Martin Newell of the London Catholic Worker was sentenced to 14 days in prison in relation to an anti-war Christian service, wall-writing and symbolic grave-digging at the Ministry of Defence on 28 December 2004.
Martin had refused to pay compensation of £660 to the MoD, after he was found guilty of criminal damage at Horseferry Road Magistrates Court.
Before sentencing Martin said: “I work with refugees. I see the effects of wars daily. Jesus said `whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters you do to me,' and the war in Iraq is killing our brothers and sisters.”
Jubilee
In 2000-2001, Martin served over six months in prison for disarming a convoy truck being prepared to carry Trident nuclear warheads - an action he carried out with Susan van der Hijden of the Amsterdam Catholic Worker - at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire. Due to the vagaries of the prison system, this time Martin was released from Brixton after only two and a half days.