Oz Found Guilty

The three editors of "OZ" - England's leading underground publication - were sentenced to jail last week after being found guilty of violating Britain's obscenity laws.

Twenty-nine-year-old editor Richard Neville was sentenced to 15 months in prison and was ordered deported. Neville is a native of Australia. The two other "OZ" editors. James Anderson and Felix Dennis, were sentenced to terms of 9 months and 12 months respectively.

In addition, "OZ" was slapped with a fine of $2440, and has been required to pay court costs of $2750. The size of the fines is expected to bankrupt the company, bringing to an end the publication of "OZ."

The publication had been on trial for four weeks on charges of printing obscene matter considered harmful to young people. The edition in question had been put together by British high school students - and had depicted several leading English cartoon characters in drawings which police considered "obscene and degrading."

A protest against the stiff sentences by several hundred young demonstrators outside the courtroom was broken up by police.

-- Earth News