Prof Susan Edwards

Now the Greenstein trial has concluded, the Canary can reveal the extent to which the judge interfered — but the jury weren't swayed Via @financialeyes thecanary.co/uk/analysis/202…

Transcript: ​"Okay, thank you, and I want to thank everyone here and who has come this week to support me throughout what has been quite an ordeal. ​Firstly, I would like to thank my legal team: the man here, Saghir Hussain; Zafar Iqbal, my solicitor; and last but not least, Lawrence McNulty, who very, very kindly accepted I was taking the speech today and gave me advice on it. ​I wanna say this is not my victory; this is all of our victories—for Palestine, for Palestine, but also for democratic rights in this country. We have a government which pursues support for genocide at the very same time as it prosecutes those who are opposed to genocide, whether it's Palestine Action, the Filton 24—or is it 25 now?—and myself. ​These prosecutions for terrorism of people who are not terrorists are increasingly being seen through by juries. The judge was not happy. If it had been a judge-only trial, as David Lammy would have liked, I would have been convicted without a doubt. But a jury of 12 men and women decided that I was not a terrorist, and that terrorism is not opposition to genocide in Gaza. ​I stood here as a Jewish person and I made it clear to the jury that my opposition to Zionism was because I was Jewish, and that Zionism is in the tradition of the Nazis who persecuted Jews 50, 80 years ago or whatever. ​We have to take heart from this, 'cause there are many other people who are still on trial: the Filton 25, the people at Preston, and many others. We have to defend each and every one of them because opposing genocide is not a crime. Supplying arms to Israel to perpetrate a genocide is a crime, and that is the nature of our judicial system: they prosecute the wrong people. ​I wanna see David Lammy, Keir Starmer, Yvette Cooper, and the rest of them inside for having helped Israel perpetrate a genocide. We stand on the right side of history; they stand with the Nazis and with all the other dictators of the past. They have no morals; all they know is how much they can make from the sale of arms. ​When we heard the Court of Appeal a month ago declare that Palestine Action was a terrorist organisation, she also described Elbit as carrying on a lawful business. If it's a lawful business to manufacture quadcopters to kill children in Gaza, that says everything about our judiciary. ​Judge—whatever her name is, Plaschkes—was not happy at all and was considering doing me for contempt of court for telling the jury they had the power to disregard her. The jury nonetheless came out with a verdict in record time, and it was, of course, not guilty—as of course I am not guilty. ​They knew very well I wasn't supporting Hamas; I was supporting the Palestinian people in their just struggle against the Zionist occupation. ​So let us take heart from what's happened today and let's go forward, and never forget unity is strength. That is what has made us strong. The jury saw throughout a full public gallery, and we have to give the same support to all the defendants who are going through trials at the moment. They are guilty of nothing more than opposing genocide. ​So once again, thank you very much, and now I must go and get my car. But if people make some arrangements, I will meet them for a drink afterwards. Okay, thank you. Free Palestine."