Climate activists sentenced up to 5 years for civil disobedience

Published On: January 30, 2025
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A court has acknowledged that climate activists acted out of a sense of sacrifice, highlighting their motivations in the fight against climate change.

This perspective reflects a growing understanding of the moral and ethical dimensions behind civil disobedience in addressing urgent environmental issues, suggesting that their actions are grounded in a profound commitment to future generations and the planet’s wellbeing.

The Court of Appeal has been presented with arguments suggesting that climate change activists, who received sentences of up to five years for their participation in demonstrations, acted out of a sense of sacrifice for a greater cause and should therefore have their penalties reconsidered and potentially reduced.

Actions by Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters aimed to bring attention to the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels and the need for urgent action to address climate change. The protests, which involved unconventional methods such as climbing on highways and throwing soup at Vincent van Gogh‘s Sunflowers painting, were designed to be attention-grabbing and disrupt daily life, highlighting the desperation and urgency felt by protesters over the government’s inaction on climate change.

The defendants’ lawyers argued that the sentences violate human rights, while the Crown Prosecution Service is defending the sentences, arguing that they were not legally incorrect. Danny Friedman KC, representing the group, expressed concerns over some sentences being among the highest in modern British history, warning that if upheld, they could signify a significant shift in criminal law sentencing practices.

Mr Friedman said: “What these applicants did by way of collective, non-violent protest, whether one likes it or not, was for the interests of the public, of the planet, and of future generations.”

“They did what they did out of sacrifice,” he added.

The sentences

  • Roger Hallam, co-founder of JSO and Extinction Rebellion, was jailed for five years for agreeing to disrupt traffic by having protesters climb on to gantries over the M25 for four successive days
  • Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu and Cressida Gethin each received four-year jail terms for their involvement in the same protest
  • George Simonson, Theresa Higginson, Paul Bell, Gaie Delap and Paul Sousek were imprisoned for between two years and 20 months for their involvement in protests on the M25, during which they climbed on to gantries over the motorway
  • Larch Maxey, Chris Bennett, Samuel Johnson and Joe Howlett were jailed for between three years and 15 months after occupying tunnels dug under the road leading to the Navigator Oil Terminal in Thurrock, Essex
  • Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland were sentenced to two years and 20 months respectively for throwing soup on the protective glass covering Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at London’s National Gallery

Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace UK are backing an appeal against certain sentences they believe undermine democratic principles, emphasizing the vital importance of preserving freedom of expression and the right to protest in a functioning democracy.

The barristers for the CPS contended that the sentences imposed were legally sound and not excessively harsh, asserting that a more lenient approach would fail to deter activists from escalating their disruptive actions, and emphasizing the necessity of deterrence to safeguard public order.

About the Author: Chris Machens

Chris Machens
Chris covers the broad spectrum of climate change, and the solutions, with the focus on the sciences. Climate State – we endorse data, facts, empirical evidence.
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