The second trial of anti-war activists for occupying the Raytheon arms manufacturer in Derry ended in the acquittal of all nine women who had been charged with burglary and attempted criminal damage., writes Goretti Horgan, of the Raytheon Nine
Pic:The Raytheon Nine outside the Laganside Court after their acquittal

The jury accepted, by a unanimous verdict, that we were reasonable in our belief that: the Israel Defence Forces were guilty of war crimes in Gaza from Dec 2008 to Jan 2009; the Raytheon company, including its facility in Derry, was aiding and abetting the commission of these crimes; and the action we took was intended to have the effect of hampering or delaying the commission of those war crimes. 
Even as the trial was in progress, Israel was again flouting international law. The last week of the trial was when the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza was attacked by Israel in international waters and at least 10 flotilla members murdered.
It was ironic that we took our action in solidarity with the people of Gaza and 18 months later, their situation is as bad as ever. 
The outcome of the trial confirmed the decision of the jury in the previous Raytheon case arising from the 2006 assault on Lebanon.
The significance of the two acquittals lies in the fact that both sets of defendants had to show to the jury not only that Raytheon was complicit in what the Israelis were doing but that what Israel was doing amounted to war crimes. Thus, like the men in the previous trial, we had to submit to the court a dossier containing media reports, the findings of human rights groups, eye-witness accounts, reports and statements from the United Nations, etc.
Congratulations
The congratulations which began coming in by text and email within minutes of the verdict, from activists of the Freedom Flotilla, from Palestine, from friends in southern Lebanon and from anti-arms trade activists around the world as well as the broad anti-war movement in Ireland and Britain testified to the widespread understanding of the importance of the outcome.
Within days of the women’s occupation, Raytheon announced that it was leaving Derry. Internal Raytheon and Invest Northern Ireland documents quoted during the trial leave no room for doubt that it was the activities of the Derry Anti War Coalition and the Foyle Ethical Investment Campaign which got rid of Raytheon in the end. None of the formal resolutions or polite statements of complaint from major political parties had any measurable effect. It is clear that sustained activity, backed up by direct action speaks louder than words. 
Voices of solidarity
After the trial, some of the women explained why they had occupied Raytheon:
Betty Doherty: “Remember it was Christmas. And while our wains were playing with their toys, their wains were being killed by Raytheon bombs. Their schools were being bombed, even United Nations schools were bombed.”
 Diana King: “My town was hosting an armaments firm which is supplying specially designed arms to a country committing war crimes in Gaza.” 
Julia Torrojo: “The whole world was a witness; merciless Raytheon-built bombs were being dropped by the Israeli armed forces upon the neighbourhoods of Gaza, their hospital, their schools, their people.  They had already killed hundreds of innocents but that day, after allegations by UN officials, that war crimes were being committed by the Israeli forces, I was determined to try and stop the carnage, Raytheon’s systems had to be paralysed and so their involvement in such Genocide.” 
Roisin Bryce: “I believed, and still believe that the assault on the people of Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces was a war crime.  We all saw it, repeated and repeated on TV. There was no intervention by the UN or any State to stop Israel.”
Betty Doherty: “Someone had to do something. Because Raytheon was operating in our town we felt we could do something. We had to. If we didn’t, who would?”
Roisin Barton: “Raytheon admitted to operating a ‘one-company policy’, meaning that if the mainframe was disabled in Derry; the computer network of the entire company would be disrupted.”
Helen Reynolds: “The prosecution tried to make out that we had gone into Raytheon simply to protest against the war on Gaza, or to get media coverage for the protests against what the Israeli forces were doing. This wasn’t true. We went in to disable the mainframe, to protect lives in Gaza.”
Sharon Meenan:  “Of course, the lawyers had to get us to say we were protecting property in Gaza because the law gives you more right to save property than to save lives.”