Judge frees Skipton woman accused in animal rights case (From Craven Herald)

Judge frees Skipton woman accused in animal rights case

1:59pm Thursday 10th May 2007 in News By Newsdesk

A Skipton woman who was arrested and charged with blackmail following a nationwide police operation has been granted bail by a judge at Bradford Crown Court.

Suzanne Jaggers, 35, of Upper Sackville Street, had been remanded in custody after she was arrested as part of a coordinated series of police raids targetting criminal activity associated with animal rights extremism.

In total 32 people were arrested during the police operation which also included raids on addresses in the Netherlands and Belguim.

Judge Scott Wolstenholme today heard a bail application on behalf of Jaggers and he decided to grant her bail with a series of conditions.

As well as residing at her home address and reporting to Skipton police station on a daily basis, Jaggers has been ordered to surrender any passport of travel documents.

She is prohibited from applying for any further travel documents and is also banned from having any contact, directly or indirectly, with any employee of Huntingdon LIfe Sciences or any person known or suspected of being associated with any business or company associated with Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Jaggers is only allowed contact with other animal rights activists via her legal representatives and is banned from participating, either in person, by mail or via the internet, in any animal rights demonstrations in the United Kingdom or abroad.

Jaggers will next appear at Bradford Crown Court on May 15.

She is accused of making a series of unwarranted demands with menaces to Brett Casiddy that he provide a statement to the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) disassociating himself and his company from business dealings with Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Her solicitor has said Jaggers has never been a member of the Animal Liberation Front and publicy renounced any connnection with SHAC.