A shocking threat to rights of free speech in the UK has just occurred. This is not just about the right of free speech, it also about climate change in how governments deal with it.
The UK is edging towards a fascist state as far as I'm concerned. This latest criminal court judgement supports my thinking. Please read Hallam's enormous tweet which is at the end of this article. You get first hand reporting. The judge was arrogant and wrong. Very wrong.
I can't find the judge's reasoning. I think he referred to the campaigners as 'fanatics'. I also think he was very biased against them and it would not surprise me if he did not believe that climate change exists and drives an enormous SUV. Yes, I am pissed off with this judge. It is not just me.
The former lord chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton said that he was 'uncomfortable' with the sentences although Sir Robert Buckland said they were justified.
This judge handed down a 5 year jail sentence to a peaceful protestor in the UK who campaigns for action against global warming by Michael Broad
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A record five-year jail term has been handed out to Roger Hallam, 58, for coordinating the climate change protests under the Just Stop Oil banner which disrupted the M25 in London over four days in 2022.
45 protesters climbed gantries on the motorway, forcing police to stop the traffic. Four others, campaigners in the Just Stop Oil organisation, were each jailed for four years. They were found guilty of conspiring to cause a public nuisance under a new draconian law which curbs free-speech and peaceful protest.
This is controversial legislation introduced by the previous government to get tough on disruptive tactics used by environmental protesters. They were charged under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
There is shock over this sentence which is a record for a person engaged in peaceful protest. Yes, I will capitalise that: PEACEFUL PROTEST.
What do the public think about the record jail sentences for Just Stop Oil activists?
— Social Change Lab (@SocChangeLab) July 19, 2024
Our nationally representative poll found 61% of people in Britain think the sentences were too harsh. Only 12% felt they were too lenient. Read more here: https://t.co/InHH5BAAjf https://t.co/CNkpeXtAEY pic.twitter.com/4fiIucxfQG
The previous Conservative government got their knickers in a twist over these Just Stop Oil protests because they were very disruptive. That made them effective. These campaigners felt that they had to be disruptive in order to make their statement clear to everybody. That's the nature of a peaceful protest. But the right wing government now ousted by Labour, decided to clampdown on them and at the same time clampdown on free speech. And also at the same time to ignore climate change.
It's utterly shocking to people like me. And to Chris Packham, the naturalist and broadcaster. He said that the sentence of five years handed down to Roger Hallam, was a threat to free speech and he has called for a meeting with Richard Hermer KC, the attorney general, "as rapidly as possible so that we could address this grotesque miscarriage of justice".
He also said that we need to be "clear, be very very clear this is not just about climate activism. The laws that have been drafted, the injustices that are being wrought, threaten all rights of free speech. We stand here today because our future security may be compromised by the reckless and irresponsible erosion of human rights, of our fundamental freedoms. I stand here because I believe this represents the direct theft of our freedom, the destruction of our democracy, the deliberate and calculated intimidation of our protesters, and that, unless we resist this, the very real danger is our species will destroy life on earth will stop"
He's of course referring to climate change which really concerns him as it should concern all of us. He is a conservationist. He was to protect wildlife which is increasingly under dire threat across the globe because of global warming.
The sentencing is particularly grotesque as this government has decided to release criminals after 40% of their sentence. The country is releasing genuine criminals early in order to make room in overcrowded prisons while at the same time clearly, over-punishing genuine people who are concerned about the future of humankind on this planet. It is BONKERS.
There have been calls to repeal the above-mentioned act. The sentence was also criticised by Tom Southerden, Amnesty International UK's law and human rights adviser. He wants the act repealed. He said that "These lengthy jail sentences for people seeking climate justice should increase the alarm over the ongoing crackdown against peaceful protest in this country, which violates all our human rights. With our overcrowded prison system already described as a ticking timebomb by the new Lord Chancellor these jail terms are all the more indefensible."
Update:
Hallam said this (and a lot more - see his tweet below):
Giving a talk on civil disobedience as an effective, evidence-based method for stopping the elite from putting enough carbon in the atmosphere to send us to extinction. I have given hundreds of similar speeches encouraging nonviolent action and have never been arrested for it. This time I was an advisor to the M25 motorway disruption, recommending the action to go ahead to wake up the British public to societal collapse.
His tweet:
I've just been sentenced to 5 years in prison.
— Roger Hallam (@RogerHallamCS21) July 18, 2024
The longest ever for nonviolent action.
The 'crime'?
Giving a talk on civil disobedience as an effective, evidence-based method for stopping the elite from putting enough carbon in the atmosphere to send us to extinction.
I have… pic.twitter.com/U2dHaDQkGf
From Just Stop Oil:
“The trial and verdict were a farce. They mark a low point in British justice and they were an assault on free speech. The judge’s characterisation of climate breakdown as a matter of opinion and belief is completely nonsensical and demonstrates extraordinary ignorance. Similarly to suggest that the climate emergency is irrelevant in relation to whether the defendants had a reasonable case for action is crass stupidity.”
Sir David King, the government’s former Chief Scientific Adviser, said:
“This is so disgraceful. We are all hoping that the change in UK Govt will also change the situation in our courts.”
As mentioned, this legislation is controversial. It provides for stiffer sentences for protesters who block roads. It was backed by the current Prime Minister. But it has been condemned by the United Nations human rights Commissioner as "deeply troubling" and "disproportionate".
In sentencing, Judge Christopher Hehir, told the activists:
In sentencing, Judge Christopher Hehir, told the activists:
"The plain fact is that each of you some time ago has crossed the line from concerned campaigner to fanatic. You have appointed yourselves as sole arbiters of what should be done about climate change."
Comment: it appears to me that he is introducing his personal opinion about these campaigners. It seems to me to be biased to describe the most fanatics.
Hallam described the criminal court that he attended as a "kangaroo court".
The trial was criticised by the UN's Special Rapporteur for Environmental Defenders, Michel Forst, who described the threat of a long sentence against Daniel Shaw [one of the defendants sentenced to 4 years] as potentially unlawful. Speaking on the eve of the first day of the trial, he warned: "The imposition of such a sanction is not only appalling but may also violate the United Kingdom's obligations under international law."
Comment: it appears to me that he is introducing his personal opinion about these campaigners. It seems to me to be biased to describe the most fanatics.
Hallam described the criminal court that he attended as a "kangaroo court".
The trial was criticised by the UN's Special Rapporteur for Environmental Defenders, Michel Forst, who described the threat of a long sentence against Daniel Shaw [one of the defendants sentenced to 4 years] as potentially unlawful. Speaking on the eve of the first day of the trial, he warned: "The imposition of such a sanction is not only appalling but may also violate the United Kingdom's obligations under international law."
The danger is that the harsh sentences will fire up the campaigners to do more. It will be a catalyst for more extreme action against climate change inertia.
The next day
The next day, in The Times, there's a long list of celebrities and well-known people who have written about the injustice of these prison sentences. In fact, more than 1100 lawyers, academics, artists and celebrities have called for an urgent meeting with the attorney general to address the injustice of the sentences given to 5 environmental activists according to a report by the Times.
It is notable that the jail terms exceed those given to Just Stop Oil activists who scaled the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge Dartford Crossing in October 2022. It is also longer than many far more serious crimes such as a police officer attempting rape as I understand it. I think you'll find that rapist in the UK get prison terms of around five years sometimes.
The Prime Minister has faced calls to intervene in this case. In addition, the UN Human Rights Commissioner described the sentences as deeply troubling and disproportionate.
The millionaire Labour donor, Dale Vince, has called for a meeting with the attorney general, Richard Hermer KC.
In their letter of 1100 signatories, they echoed the call by Dale Vince and Chris Packham. Those who signed it include Lord Williams of Oystermouth, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC, one of the country's most distinguished human rights lawyers and the artist Dame Tracey Emin. Sir David King, the former chief scientific adviser to the government also signed the letter. There are many others including Toby Jones, the star of Mr Bates vs The Post Office and Danny Boyle, the director of the film Trainspotting.
The general consensus is that "With prisons a breaking point how can these sentences be seen as anything other than insanity".
A petition has been started in America by an American-based campaign group which has condemned the "gagging and jailing of peaceful climate protesters in UK courts." The petition argues that the laws are repressive and they have called on PM Starmer to repeal them. It has garnered 20,000 signatures to date.
The activists are arguing that the sentences were manifestly excessive and that the judge "appears to have punished the defendants for disobeying his orders not to explain their motivations for taking such actions."
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