Electronic artist Klaus among 15 protestors convicted of obstructing Stansted Airport deportations
"We are guilty of nothing more than intervening to prevent harm"
The 15 protestors conviced on terrorism charges for obstructing a UK Government deportation flight from Stansted Airport included ambient electronic artist, Klaus.
The ‘Stansted 15’ were found guilty of “endangering the safety” of the airport this week and could be given life sentences due to the severity of a rarely applied terrorism charge for this kind of protest.
In a statement released by the protestors after their conviction, the Stansted 15 said: "We are guilty of nothing more than intervening to prevent harm. The real crime is the Government's cowardly, inhumane and barely legal deportation flights and the unprecedented use of terror law to crack down on peaceful protest."
Klaus, whose real name is Nick Sigsworth, is founder of the Tanum label and has also previously released on labels including R&S as well as feautring on radio stations like Rinse FM.
The protest occurred on 28th March 2017, with the 15 people locking themselves around a Home Office chartered flight that was set to deport people to Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone.
Last night (11th December), hundreds gathered outside the Home Office in London in a show of solidarity for the Stansted 15 who many believe have been wrongly convicted.
Klaus hails the partial success of the protest as the reason they did it, in that several of the deportees have managed to remain in the UK after the flight did not take off.
There were people due to be forced onto that plane and sent to places where they knew no-one and feared for their lives. 11 people due to be on it are still in the country now, having their cases heard properly. 1 person now has leave to remain. This is why we did it.
— klaus (@klausmuzik) December 5, 2018
"There were people due to be forced onto that plane and sent to places where they knew no one and feared for their lives," he said.
The sentencing will take place on 4th February.
A strong tradition persists within electronic music of pro-immigration politics, with Zedd last year leading a movement against Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
Immigration and music innovation is deeply intertwined in the UK, as we explored in our feature on the DJs that came out of the Windrush generation.
