(30 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
London, UK – 30 January 2025
1. Wide of climate protesters sat outside the Royal Court of Justice to support activists who were jailed
2. Close of protesters holding signs reading ‘corruption in court’
3. Police officers speaking to protesters
4. Wide of protesters
5. Various of police speaking to protesters
6. Close of banner reading ‘free political prisoners’
7. Wide of protesters sat in front of the Royal Court of Justice
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Paddy Friend, 25-year-old protester:
"I’m here today sat in front of the Royal Court of Justice in London, because our law and our democracy has been corrupted by the oil industry, corrupted by the arms industry. And good non-violent peaceful people who protest, who resist this, are being locked up, they’ve been locked up for years and years."
9. Various of protesters in front of the court
10. Close of banner reading ‘Free them’
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Claudia Cotton, 88-year-old protester:
"I’m really appalled that people are being sent to prison just for protesting and just appalled that the way Britain, British government seems not to be bothered about this kind of insidious journey towards what seems very dictatorial kind of attitude."
12. Various of protesters and police
13. Protestors holding banner and singing
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of environmental protesters sat outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday, blocking traffic in central London.
Sixteen environmental activists who were jailed for actions including stopping traffic, blocking an oil facility and splashing a van Gogh painting with soup went to a London court for two days to challenge their sentences.
The Just Stop Oil protesters on Wednesday said they received unduly harsh prison terms –- between 15 months and five years –- for disruptive but peaceful actions.
The group argues that the jailed protesters are “political prisoners” who were “acting in self-defence and to protect our families and communities.”
Danny Friedman, a lawyer for the claimants, said that if the sentences were allowed to stand, it would mark a “paradigm shift" in criminal law sentencing for peaceful protests on matters of conscience.
Five of the claimants were jailed for November 2022 demonstrations that saw protesters climb gantries above a busy highway. The others were sentenced for digging and occupying tunnels under the road leading to an oil terminal in southeast England and throwing soup onto the protective glass over van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” at London’s National Gallery.
The Conservative government that lost power in July 2024 toughened anti-protest laws in response to eco-activists who blocked roads and bridges, glued themselves to trains, splattered artworks with paint, sprayed buildings with fake blood and doused athletes in orange powder to raise awareness of climate change.
The government said the laws prevented extremist activists from hurting the economy and disrupting daily life.
Civil liberties groups have urged the centre-left Labour Party government, elected in July, to ease the restrictions on protest imposed by its predecessor.
The three judges are likely to hand down their ruling several days or weeks later.
Separately Wednesday, London’s Metropolitan Police said two Just Stop Oil protesters have been charged with “aggravated trespass” for allegedly disrupting a performance of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” at Theatre Royal in Drury Lane the previous evening.
London police said Richard Weir, 60, and Hayley Walsh, 42, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Feb. 25.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/d6db074e02674009aa5e26ce13a2c1e0
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in February 4, 2025, 6:05 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
