London Autobahn blocked
Climate activists have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms in Britain for organizing a protest on a motorway. Four activists from Just Stop Oil were sentenced to four years each, according to the British news agency PA. Roger Hallam, who also co-founded Extinction Rebellion, received a five-year sentence. According to PA, these are believed to be the longest sentences given for a peaceful protest.
Activists had disrupted traffic on the M25 motorway around London for several days in November 2022. At that time, dozens of people had climbed onto signs. A police officer was injured in an accident.
"The fact is that each of you has crossed the line from concerned activist to fanatic some time ago," the judge at the Southwark Crown Court in London said, according to PA. "You have made yourselves the sole arbiters of what should be done about climate change."
The group Just Stop Oil criticized the decision as "an obscene perversion of justice". Their supporters were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, although they had only participated in a videoconference. The group protests for more climate protection in Britain regularly.
Despite the Activists from Just Stop Oil disrupting traffic on the London's M25 motorway, reminiscent of actions on the autobahn in Germany, their actions resulted in a Londoner serving a five-year prison sentence for co-founding the movement. This sentence, along with four-year terms for four other activists, has sparked outrage among prison reform Activists, arguing that peaceful protests should not lead to such severe punishments.
