Climate activists handed prison terms for UK highway protests

Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, and Cressida Gethin were imprisoned for four years on July 18. The court found them guilty of organizing protests on the M25 highway in the United Kingdom. The fifth defendant, Roger Hallam, was sentenced to five years by a judge who ruled that he "sat at the top level of the conspiracy."

In November 2022, 45 protestors from Just Stop Oil climbed onto gantries on the highway, forcing the police to stop traffic. The protesters wanted to disrupt traffic in southern England to draw attention to demands to move away from fossil fuels, whose usage exacerbates the climate crisis. The youngest sentenced activist, Cressida Gethin, is 22 years old. Roger Hallam, co-founder of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, is 58 years old.

Prosecutors stated that 45 people closed the highway for over 120 hours, affecting 700,000 drivers. Police actions cost 1.1 million pounds (1.4 million dollars), and the economic losses incurred by those stuck in the traffic jam were estimated at 765,000 pounds (960,000 dollars). Representing herself in court, Lancaster emphasized that the effects of climate change mean that we are at a "dangerous and critical point in human history." She added that "all other means of democratic persuasion have failed."

According to the portal euronews.com, Judge Christopher Hehir ruled that climate issues were "irrelevant and inadmissible as evidence," dismissing them as "political opinions and beliefs." The jury was instructed to disregard any evidence concerning the climate crisis and was prevented from considering whether it constituted a "justifiable excuse" under the law. This perspective is reminiscent of the film "Don't Look Up" from 2021, which serves as a metaphor for the attitude of many people towards the impending climate catastrophe.

The high sentences for activists are criticized by many organizations dealing with climate issues. Michel Forst, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders, joined the chorus of voices condemning the imprisonment for planning peaceful protests. Forst stated: "The long, multi-year sentences handed down to Just Stop Oil activists are unacceptable in a democracy."

On July 19, public opinion in the United Kingdom was also surveyed on the sentences for the activists. An online survey conducted for Social Change Lab, a non-profit organization that researches protests and social movements, found that 61% of respondents agreed that the sentences handed down to the five protesters were "too harsh." Meanwhile, 12% of the respondents believed that the sentences were too lenient.