Tag: Robert Moaby

British Animal Rights Activist Sentenced for E-Mail Death Threats

British animal rights activist Robert Moaby, 33, was sentenced this week to four and a half years in jail for e-mailing death threats to executives at companies that did business with Huntingdon Life Sciences. Moaby also received almost 3 years for possessing child pornography which was discovered on a computer seized from his home.

In May 2001, Moaby sent an e-mail to a vice-president of the Bank of New York that said, “We are going to kill you.” In June 2001, Moaby sent another threatening e-mail to the CEO of AIM Fund Management. In both e-mails, Moaby cited the businesses links to Huntingdon Life Sciences.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Peter Fingret told Moaby,

These were not idle threats. They must be seen in the context of a violent campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences and its associated companies. You must have known they would instill fear to the people they were addressed and their families. Justifiably, they were taken so seriously by your victims that they had security arranged for them.

British newspapers The Daily Telegraph (London) and This is London both identified Moaby as a member of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty. SHAC spokesman Greg Avery told This is London, however, that Moaby was not known to SHAC and they did not endorse his actions.

Which is a bit odd, considering that Moaby’s actions were completely consistent with both SHAC’s rhetoric and the actions of its leaders such as Avery. Avery himself plead guilty to waging a campaign of harassment against investors in Huntingdon Life Sciences, including distributing newsletters containing the addresses of those affiliated with HLS telling readers, “Lets smash them.”

Sources:

Animal activist jailed over death threats. The Daily Telegraph (London), August 20, 2002.

Animal rights man jailed over email. Patrick McGowan, ThisIsLondon.Com, August 20, 2002.

Anti-HLS Activists Pleads Guilty to Death Threats, Child Porn

British animal rights activist Robert Moaby plead guilty this week to four counts of making death threats against people connected with Huntingdon Life Sciences and 17 counts related to the distribution and possession of child pornography which was found on Moaby’s computer after British police effected a search warrant of his residence.

Moaby had sent death threats to executives at the Bank of New York and the AIM Fund Management, both of which have been targeted by Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty for their connections with Huntingdon Life Sciences.

Detective Constable Tim Duffin told The Times of London,

Some of these e-mails were quite terrifying. They contained almost all the profanities you could think of and threats of sexual assault.

Moaby sent them saying he was representing SHAC, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty. The threats were very time specific and would say things along the line of ‘you will die this week.’

The targets of these threats lived in the United States and they informed the FBI who in turn passed along information about the threats to Scotland Yard which arrested Moaby on June 21, 2001. Moaby is scheduled to be sentenced on July 22.

Source:

Animal rights activist hoarded child porn. The Times (London), June 18, 2002.