When the Trial Starts, Everything Else Stops!

When the trial starts, everything else stops. That’s how it will be for
the 13 defendants in the Austrian §278a trial.

The animal rights activists will have to sit in the courtroom three days
a week (attendance is mandatory) — that means a complete disruption of
their lives. The thirteen will not be able to work, study or pursue any
other activists. Whenever they are not in the courtroom, they will be
busy with trial preparations. And of course they will also be constantly
confronted with the repression and its consequences — permanent
surveillance, the three and a half months of pre-trial detention, the
possibility of having to go back to prison. This permanent confrontation
with the repression does not only weigh down on the accused, but also on
their friends and family who support them.
In addition there are the astronomically high legal defense costs.
Besides the costs for the constant commuting between Vienna and Wiener
Neustadt (where the trial will take place), the attorney’s fees are
growing to insurmountable sums. The costs for the first 34 trial dates
are estimated at over €200,000! And we assume that there will be twice
as many court dates by the time the trial comes to an end. Such a sum
can only be raised over years (with the help of a lot of donations).
Until then the defendants will have to live with excessive debt and will
have to structure their lives accordingly. In any case this means an
enormous detriment and burden for the activists!

But we refuse to let ourselves be brought down by the feeling that
everything will stop. Instead we want to show what it really means, when
everything stops. Therefore we are calling for creative actions and
protests to disrupt public life on March 2, the opening day of the
trial. As many people as possible should learn what this trial — one of
the biggest trials of the Second Republic in Austria — really means.

For the Discontinuance of All Investigations and Charges!
For the Right to Determine One’s Own Life — for Everyone!

And what’s more: WE ARE ALL §278A!

1. February 2010