Editor-DN
The court highlighted the “intricate planning” involved in the protest action.
Five environmental activists, including Roger Hallam and Daniel Shaw, have been sentenced for disrupting the M25 motorway in November 2022, according to the BBC. The protest, sponsored by Just Stop Oil, was aimed at blocking the road and resulted in major traffic jams, accidents and delays that lasted for nearly four days. The financial cost of the event was estimated at over 1.8 million pounds (Rs. 19,47,28,935).
Hallam was sentenced to five years in prison, with three to four years remaining. The court highlighted the “sophisticated planning and level of sophistication involved” by protesters on climate change activism. This is the longest sentence, given the new laws to prevent disruptive demonstrations.
According to News outletIn the M25 protest case, Whittaker De Abreu and Gethin were drafted in to climb near the motorway, while Lancaster rented a safe house and bought climbing equipment for the workers.
Lancaster defended his actions as necessary because of the perceived failure of democratic practices, calling the climate crisis a critical issue.
Gethin said the disruption was meant to be minimal and blamed those in power for failing to seriously address climate change. Hallam, who had previously rejected direct action for traditional campaigning, was disruptive in court, leading to three arrests and encouraging supporters to protest outside the courthouse.
As a result, 11 protesters were arrested for blasphemy, but the charges were later dropped. Hallam claimed that the judiciary was corrupt and manipulative, calling its actions necessary for environmental justice.
The new law under which activists were punished, introduced in 2022, directly criminalizes actions that cause serious harm to the public. The judge emphasized the intent of the law to deal with such acts harshly, punishable by up to 10 years.
