In London, a British court has dismissed appeals from the majority of a group of environmental activists who were imprisoned for various disruptive acts, such as obstructing traffic, impeding an oil facility, and defacing a Vincent van Gogh painting with soup. The protesters, known as Just Stop Oil, had contended that their sentences, ranging from 15 months to five years, were disproportionately harsh for their peaceful demonstrations. They claimed to be political prisoners acting in defense of their families and communities.
While three Court of Appeal judges upheld the convictions of 10 activists, they did reduce the sentences of six others involved in protests in 2022, which included scaling gantries above a busy highway. Notably, Roger Hallam, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, saw his five-year sentence reduced to four years.
The activists’ lawyer, Raj Chada, expressed some satisfaction with the slight reduction in Hallam’s sentence, but lamented that many others were upheld as excessive. He criticized the English justice system for handing out severe penalties for peaceful protests, contrasting it with more lenient approaches in other European countries.
Despite their setback in court, the activists are contemplating appealing to the UK Supreme Court. The unsuccessful appeals included cases of protesters digging tunnels under a road near an oil terminal and vandalizing Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” at the National Gallery. Some campaigners present during the ruling turned their backs in protest, wearing shirts calling out corruption in the court.
The former Conservative government, ousted in July 2024, had tightened anti-protest laws in response to environmental activists’ disruptive tactics. The new Labour Party government has faced calls from civil liberties groups, like Greenpeace UK, to review and relax these laws, arguing that they curtail the fundamental right to peaceful protest.
Areeba Hamid, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, highlighted the ongoing concerns about freedom of expression and protest in the face of corporate and governmental power. She emphasized the importance of protecting the right to speak out against injustices and environmental threats.
