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<a href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/26//cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/26/BAGGAFE51P1.DTL">
SAN FRANCISCO <br>
<dd>Man refuses to testify in animal rights case</a> <br>
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<dd><font size=1>- <a href="mailto:sfinz@sfchronicle.com">Stacy Finz,
Chronicle Staff Writer</a><br>
<dd>Wednesday, October 26, 2005 <br><br>
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<dd><font size=3>A man who refuses to testify before a federal grand jury
investigating an animal rights activist suspected in two East Bay
bombings in 2003 was held in contempt of court Tuesday. <br><br>
<dd>U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco ordered Michael
Kennedy to surrender himself to the U.S. Marshals Service by 2 p.m. Nov.
8. Illston gave Kennedy two weeks of freedom so his attorneys would have
time to challenge her decision to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in San Francisco. <br><br>
<dd>Illston said Kennedy could avoid going to jail if he agrees to
testify. "I'm urging you to do that," she said. <br><br>
<dd>For two years, the FBI has been searching for Daniel Andreas San
Diego, who is wanted on charges of setting explosives in 2003 at the
Emeryville biotechnology firm Chiron Corp. and at Shaklee, a Pleasanton
firm that sells health, beauty and household products. No one was hurt in
the blasts. <br><br>
<dd>A group calling itself Revolutionary Cells took responsibility for
the explosions. E-mails sent to followers of the animal rights movement
said the group had singled out the two firms because of their links to
Huntingdon Life Sciences. The New Jersey research company conducted drug
and chemical experiments on animals for clients such as Chiron and
Shaklee's then-parent company. <br><br>
<dd>Kennedy is one of 11 people -- most involved in animal rights groups
-- who have been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury. He is the
first to be held in contempt. In June, activists challenged the
subpoenas, accusing the federal government of being on a witch hunt to
stifle the animal rights movement and intimidate its members. <br><br>
<dd>During the brief hearing Tuesday, Kennedy's attorneys, Whitney Leigh
and Matt Gonzalez, said their client had initially been cooperative with
the FBI, but had lost trust in the government. <br><br>
<dd>"He has already answered these questions a number of times
truthfully and still got hauled up before the grand jury," Gonzalez
said. "Mr. Kennedy is not gaming the system. The government has
subjected a law-abiding citizen to harassment." <br><br>
<dd>The two attorneys unsuccessfully argued that the U.S. attorney's
office was required to notify Kennedy whether he has been the target of
electronic surveillance, such as phone taps, before compelling him to
testify. Prosecutor Elise Becker submitted a declaration to the court
saying that to her knowledge, he had not. But Leigh called the assertion
"very sketchy" and "superficial." <br><br>
<dd>Illston, however, said she found that the government's response was
adequate and that Kennedy hadn't made a sufficient showing that his phone
had indeed been tapped, other than to say he heard strange clicking
noises. <br><br>
<dd>Outside the courtroom, Kennedy declined to comment or give his age.
Prosecutors and the FBI will not comment, saying it is illegal for them
to discuss grand jury proceedings, which are held in secret. <br><br>
<dd>E-mail Stacy Finz at
<a href="mailto:sfinz@sfchronicle.com">sfinz@sfchronicle.com</a>.</i>
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<dd>Page B - 7 <br>
<dd>URL:
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