Sky News reported on Thursday that Roger Hallam, 58, co-founder of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, was sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to organise illegal protests.
Judge Christopher Hehir also sentenced four other defendants to four years in prison for the same offence, news outlets reported. reportThe sentences are believed to be the harshest ever imposed for peaceful protests, the media added. (Related article: Wealthy Hollywood mogul justifies destroying Stonehenge for climate protection)
“It is plainly true that each of you crossed the line from concerned activist to fanatic some time ago,” Judge Hehir reportedly told the defendants. “You have appointed yourselves the sole arbiters of what should be done about climate change,” he added. “You are the theorists, you are the 'ideas' – in my judgment you are at the highest level of conspiracy.”
According to the media, the prosecution alleged that the defendants conspired to close London's M25 motorway for four consecutive days in November 2022. According to Sky News, the prosecution told the court that the protests organised by the defendants caused around $990,000 in damages to the economy and more than $1.4 million in damages to the Metropolitan Police.
The media outlet noted that it calculated the figure by calculating vehicle delay times, the number of vehicles affected, and the total time the highway was said to be “at risk.” According to Sky News, one police officer was injured after being knocked off his motorbike during the protests on November 9, 2022.
Hallam was arrested three times during court proceedings for refusing to follow judges' orders, the BBC reported. report“The carbon state's corruption of the judges has crossed a red line,” Hallam said, according to the media. “We have a limited time left to stop unimaginable climate and social collapse horrors and protect our democracy,” the environmental activist added.
Five environmental activists who staged protests that blocked parts of the M25 in England for four days have been sentenced to at least four years each. https://t.co/bleHUE0CTj
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) July 18, 2024
Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion are direct action groups fighting climate change. Just Stop Oil destroyed two private jets in June at an airport where they mistakenly believed Taylor Swift's jet had landed. In the same month, the two activists also vandalized Stonehedge.
