Overview
- Rajan Naidu, 74, Niamh Lynch, 23, and Luke Watson, 36, were found not guilty of criminal damage and causing a public nuisance at Salisbury Crown Court.
- Judge Paul Dugdale directed jurors to weigh Articles 10 and 11 on freedom of expression and assembly, stressing that any conviction must be a proportionate interference with those rights.
- Prosecutors said Watson bought the colour blasters from the Kingdom of Colours website and drove his co-defendants to Stonehenge; his DNA was found on one device.
- The defence argued the action was a peaceful political protest using cornflour, talc and dye selected to avoid lasting harm, and the court heard the cleanup cost was £620.
- The protest took place the day before last year’s summer solstice, when around 15,000 people were expected to gather at the UNESCO World Heritage Site.