US embassy cable - 04DUBLIN1749

UNCLAS DUBLIN 001749 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MARR, EI, FAB5 
SUBJECT: MARY KELLY GETS A SUSPENDED SENTENCE 
 
REF: DUBLIN 01635 
 
1.  Mary Kelly, who was convicted on October 28 of causing 
$1.5 million of damage to a US military aircraft, was given a 
two-year suspended sentence by Judge Carroll Moran at 
Limerick Circuit Court.  Kelly was spared a custodial 
sentence and given four years probation on the condition that 
she commits no repeat action and does not come within a 
one-mile radius of Shannon airport.  Judge Carroll Moran said 
he had a duty to prevent this act from happening again but 
indicated that in giving her a suspended sentence, he had to 
take into account that this was her first conviction and she 
was a "woman of good character."  Sources in government say 
her conviction establishes the principal of wrong doing.  The 
case of the Catholic Workers group, who damaged the same 
plane several days after Mary Kelly did, will be heard early 
in 2005.  The issue of compensation to the USG for losses 
will not be addressed until the court case is over. 
 
2.  The sentencing was adjourned a number of times at the 
request of Kelly to consult a new legal team and to prepare 
for a plea of mitigation. 
 
3.  Kelly contended throughout the trial that she had "lawful 
excuse" for the criminal damage to the aircraft, as her 
actions were intended to save lives in Iraq.  However, Judge 
Moran said during the trial that this was not a case to 
"consider the legality of the war in Iraq" and that Kelly's 
act was "simple vigilantism". 
 
4.  The Irish Times reported that the Irish Anti-War Movement 
(IAWM) said Kelly's treatment was an example of "gross 
hypocrisy" on the part of the (Irish) Government and the 
courts.  "What is a damaged hunk of steel set against the 
deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians who are dead 
as a result of Bush's war." Richard Boyd Barrett, chairman of 
the IAWM was reported to say: "It is unbelievable that the 
state has set out to criminalize Mary Kelly, who hurt nobody 
and did nothing more than act to try and save human lives." 
KENNY