UPDATE-BETTY KRAWCZYK TO HAVE SENTENCE IMPOSED AT 2:30 P.M. TODAY, AUGUST 14, 2003 AT THE LAW COURTS, VANCOUVER, COURTROOM 54

Betty Krawczyk was transported from Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women to the Law Courts in Vancouver for a brief appearance today in B.C. Supreme Court. Mr. Justice Harvey indicated that his calendar was too full this week to accommodate Ms. Krawczyk’s sentencing hearing and the matter was adjourned to Tuesday, October 14, 2003 at 10:00 a.m. Ms. Krawczyk was then transported back to the BCCW to continue serving her 128th day in custody.

Ms. Krawczyk was convicted of criminal contempt of court on September 19, 2003 for disobeying an injunction order made in a civil lawsuit commenced by Hayes Forest Services Ltd. Hayes, a Weyerhaeuser contractor, has given no indication it plans to proceed with the lawsuit, which was apparently commenced for the sole purpose of having Ms. Krawczyk arrested and imprisoned. Crown Counsel appointed by the Attorney General of British Columbia will be making submissions on the appropriate punishment.

As a result of the Attorney General’s policy on ‘civil disobedience’, political protesters are frequently the subject of private injunctions and contempt of court proceedings. When this approach is used, the Attorney General can seek substantial jail sentences for people who engage in acts of passive dissent. In another recent case, the B.C. Supreme Court called the use of the injunction/contempt power as ‘officially induced abuse of process’:

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