Campaigners and Celebrities Rally in Support of Just Stop Oil Activists Facing Lengthy Jail Terms
Campaigners and celebrities are coming together in a show of solidarity for the Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters who have been handed lengthy prison sentences for their climate activism. A total of 16 JSO activists are set to challenge sentences totaling 41 years in prison for their peaceful protests in a two-day hearing at the Court of Appeal. In a rare move, the appeals for the four cases will be consolidated into a mass hearing.
Roger Hallam, co-founder of JSO and a regular contributor to The Ecologist, is appealing his five-year sentence for participating in a Zoom call to plan nonviolent disruption of the M25 in protest against the issuance of new oil and gas licenses.
Peaceful Protest
Joining him in the appeal are defendants Cressida Gethin, Louise Lancaster, Daniel Shaw, and Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, each of whom received four-year prison terms. Additionally, five protesters were imprisoned for climbing onto gantries over the M25, including George Simonson (two years), Theresa Higginson (two years), Paul Bell (22 months), Gaie Delap (20 months), and Paul Sousek (20 months).
Larch Maxey was sentenced to three years for occupying tunnels beneath the road leading to the Navigator Oil Terminal in Thurrock, Essex, along with Chris Bennett (18 months), Samuel Johnson (18 months), and Joe Howlett (15 months). Meanwhile, Phoebe Plummer received a two-year sentence for splashing soup on the protective glass of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting, with Anna Holland receiving a 20-month prison term.
Historically, peaceful protests rarely led to incarceration. However, recent legislation introduced by the previous government in 2022 and 2023 has significantly curtailed activism.
Rumours and Controversy
In May 2024, Lord Walney, the government’s former ‘independent’ adviser on political violence and disruption, released a report recommending that JSO members be treated as organized crime groups. Despite his purported independence, Walney holds paid positions with companies linked to the fossil fuel and arms industries, such as advisor roles with Rud Pederson, a public affairs consultancy with clients like Glencore, and the Purpose Coalition, which counts BP among its members.
A spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed that Walney remains in his position but declined to address rumors suggesting a review of his role.
More than 1,000 individuals are expected to gather outside the Royal Courts of Justice to block the Strand in support of the defendants under the banner of Free Political Prisoners.
