UK Court Hears Climate Activists’ Appeal Against Lengthy Jail Sentences

Sixteen Just Stop Oil protesters argue their sentences for nonviolent actions are excessive and threaten democratic rights.

Sixteen environmental activists, sentenced to 15 months to five years for nonviolent protests, are appealing their prison terms at the UK Court of Appeal.
The activists, associated with Just Stop Oil, were convicted for actions including blocking the M25 motorway and throwing soup on a glass-covered Van Gogh painting.
Lawyers for the appellants argue the sentences are unprecedented, disproportionate, and fail to account for the activists’ conscientious motivations.
The Crown Prosecution Service defends the sentences, stating they are lawful and necessary to deter increasingly disruptive protests.
Environmental groups Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have intervened, warning the sentences pose a significant threat to the right to peaceful protest.