UN Representative Criticises UK's Crackdown on Environmental Protesters

Michel Forst, UN special rapporteur, condemns new legislation and harsh treatment of activists, calling for protection of the right to protest amid environmental crises.

UN special rapporteur Michel Forst condemns the UK's treatment of environmental protesters, citing 'increasingly severe crackdowns' and criminalisation of peaceful protest.
New legislation, including the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023, has given more power to police and judges to arrest and sentence protesters.
Several protesters, including those from the Just Stop Oil movement, have been jailed or are facing court action, with some subjected to harsh bail conditions such as wearing ankle tags and restrictions on communication.
Forst criticises the denial of defendants' rights to explain their motivations for protest to the jury, and the vitriolic language used against climate activists in the media and by politicians.
Forst calls for the UK Government to protect the right to protest and those who exercise it, in light of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.