Six climate change activists, including Roger Hallam, a co-founder of the environmental group Just Stop Oil, have had their prison sentences reduced following an appeal heard at the Court of Appeal. The activists were originally sentenced for their participation in climate demonstrations that significantly disrupted traffic, particularly on the M25.

Hallam, who was sentenced to five years for orchestrating protests which involved protesters climbing onto motorway gantries, saw his sentence reduced to four years. Meanwhile, four other activists—Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, and Cressida Gethin—who had received four-year sentences for similar actions, saw their sentences adjusted. Shaw and Lancaster’s sentences were reduced to three years, while Whittaker De Abreu and Gethin’s sentences were cut to 30 months. Gaie Delap, another participant in the protests, had her sentence reduced from 20 months to 18 months.

The Court of Appeal has been tasked with reviewing the sentences given to a total of sixteen activists jailed for various disruptive activities during 2022. While the six activists received reductions, the remaining ten participants in the mass appeal were unsuccessful in their claims.

During a two-day hearing last month, the legal representatives for the activists argued that the trial judges had failed to apply the traditional leniency that is often granted in cases of civil disobedience driven by conscientious motives. In documents presented to the court, it was argued, “They are the only known examples of punishment of peaceful protesters in which no reduction at all was made for such motivation.”

Danny Friedman KC, representing the appellants, expressed concern over the potential implications of the original sentences, describing them as “the highest of their kind in modern British history” and indicating that they were disproportionately long. He warned that if these sentences were upheld, they could represent a significant change in this domain of criminal law.

Adding to the atmosphere of the appeal, around two dozen supporters of Just Stop Oil attended the court, wearing white t-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “Corruption in Court” and turning their backs on the judges as a form of protest.

The proceedings reflect ongoing tensions over climate activism and the legal ramifications that accompany civil disobedience tactics employed by groups campaigning against environmental degradation.

Source: Noah Wire Services