Animal rights activists guilty of blackmail
Four animal rights activists have been guilty of blackmail
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Tuesday, 23, Dec 2008 04:27
Four animal rights activists have been found guilty of blackmailing companies supplying the animal testing research centre Huntingdon Life Sciences today.
Gerrah Selby, 20, from Hampshire, Daniel Wadham, 21, from Aberdare, Gavin Medd-Hall, 45, and Heather Nicholson, 41, both from Surrey, are all members of the group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty and were accused of engaging in a campaign of intimidation between 2001 and 2007.
All four denied the charges but only Trevor Holmes, 51, was cleared of the charge.
Earlier Gregg Avery, Natasha Avery and Daniel Amos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail.
During the trial, Winchester crown court heard how they would enter into company premises, shout slogans and make threatening remarks.
Reports suggest that some of the alleged intimidation included sending used sanitary towels in the post, saying that they were contaminated with HIV, as well as sending hoax parcel bombs.
The group were caught after Kent police bugged their Hampshire headquarters.
The judge told the four they would be sentenced in January and reports suggest they could face up to 14 years in prison.
DCI Any Robbins from Kent police said this afternoon that he was satisfied with the verdict and paid tribute to the victims of the group's actions.