Protesters challenging sentences acted ‘out of sacrifice’, Court of Appeal told
Protesters challenging sentences acted ‘out of sacrifice’, Court of Appeal told
Share:
More than a dozen climate protesters jailed for up to five years for their involvement in various demonstrations “did what they did out of sacrifice” and should have their sentences reduced, the Court of Appeal has heard. Sixteen activists received prison sentences of between five years and 15 months in July and August last year for their roles in four demonstrations held by Just Stop Oil (JSO) between August and November 2022, including climbing on gantries over the M25 and throwing soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers.
The group is bidding to appeal against the length of their sentences at a hearing on Wednesday, with their lawyers telling the Court of Appeal that the sentences were “manifestly excessive”, breached their human rights, and should have taken into account their “conscientious motivation”.
The Crown Prosecution Service is opposing the appeal bids, claiming the sentences were not “wrong in law”. Danny Friedman KC, one of several lawyers representing the group, said some sentences were “the highest of their kind in modern British history”, and others were “considerably longer than one would have expected”.
He said that if the sentences were allowed to stand, it would mark a “paradigm shift in this area of criminal law sentencing”, and all involved “peaceful protest”. The court was told that the protesters “acted in the knowledge that they would be prosecuted”, but “none of the applicants acted out of self-interest”.
