A packed court gave jurors in the trial of activist Jaggi Singh a standing ovation Thursday after they acquitted Singh and two other activists on all counts on charges related to a demonstration outside a G-20 meeting in Montreal in 2000.
"This is a good start," Singh said after his acquittal. "We fought the law and we won."
Singh and two other anti-globalization protesters were on trial on a charge of participating in a riot outside a downtown hotel in October 2000 as finance ministers from around the globe met inside.
"This was an attempt to elevate the level of police repression of activists, to take it from a legal assembly and put it up to the level of riot," Singh said.
The Crown argued that Singh led the protest, and prosecution witnesses told the court paint was hurled at the hotel and windows were broken.
A few protesters commandeered garbage bins and eventually set them on fire. Projectiles were hurled at riot police, who responded with pepper spray.
Singh, who also faces charges arising from the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City in April 2001, said he will celebrate by continuing to protest.
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