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Florida Judge Dismisses Case against Greenpeace

Judge Dismisses Case against Greenpeace

MoonieTunes

Miami, FL, May. 20 (UPI) — A Miami federal judge has acquitted the Greenpeace environmental group of boarding a ship carrying Amazon forest mahogany, it was reported Thursday. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel said U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan ruled that prosecutors had presented insufficient evidence to send the case to the jury.


The case was the first in which a protest organization had been indicted for the conduct of its members. Greenpeace said the charges were intended to silence the group and put it out of business. A conviction could have jeopardized its non-profit status.


The charges were filed under a 1872 law enacted to discourage brothels from luring sailors from ships that were approaching port. Jordan ruled that the ship, the 965-foot cargo ship Jade, was 6 miles out to sea and therefore not approaching port. Greenpeace said the operation was intended to draw attention to the Amazon rain forest which it says is being destroyed by loggers.