jeers,
I
(PS: no, I don't know why JSO refer to it as 'Tory oil' when there's no indication Labour would act any differently)
*****
https://juststopoil.org/2024/02/19/gantry-climber-cressie-gethin-22-found-guilty/
Gantry climber, Cressie Gethin 22, found guilty
Court & Prison, Press / February 19, 2024
Just Stop Oil supporter and gantry climber, Cressie Gethin, has been found guilty. Cressie took action in July 2022, demanding the UK government immediately halts all licensing and consents for new fossil fuel exploration and extraction. [1]
The trial began on the 5th February at Isleworth Crown Court, with Judge Duncan presiding. The jury has found Cressie guilty by a majority of ten to two. Cressie, 22, a music student from Hereford, will be sentenced on the 3rd of May with two others. They face a possible ten year custodial sentence. [2]
During the trial Cressie was prevented from talking about her reasons for taking action and was denied any legal defence by the judge. The court heard a witness testimony from acclaimed naturalist and television presenter, Chris Packham, who commented that those taking action like Cressie “should be commended for sounding a vital alarm”. He added: “I am attending court to support Cressie Gethin because I don’t think she is getting a fair trial. I think, along with the UN, that the UK’s protest laws and sentencing of protesters are unjust, draconian, and in conflict with our basic human rights.” [3] [4]
Cressie climbed a motorway gantry above the M25 on the 20th July 2022, two days after the governments’ net zero strategy was declared unlawful, and one day after the UK recorded its highest ever temperature of 40.3 degrees celsius, a milestone that scientists previously thought was impossible. 61,000 excess deaths were recorded across Europe as a result of the extreme heat that summer, whilst the UK government continued to licence new oil and gas. [5]
Speaking before the action in 2022, Cressie said:
“I am terrified by the extreme heat in the UK this week, knowing that this will only get worse as we continue to extract and burn more and more fossil fuels. This country has the technology and money to begin a just and rapid transition to renewable energy immediately, but our government refuses to do so. I feel it is my duty as a human being to demand change in a way that cannot be ignored.
Thousands of people will die this week as a result of the extreme temperatures we are experiencing in the UK. We are in this situation because of increasing global temperatures caused by the emissions from burning fossil fuels. Against this backdrop, the UK government plans to open new oil and gas fields. I am dumbfounded by their negligence.
I am thinking of the countless people across the country and abroad who are now experiencing illness and death as a result of the climate crisis. People are angry that our government is continuing down the path of destruction, and we will not simply stand by and let this happen.”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson commented:
“It would be extremely convenient for everyone if the climate crisis could be removed from our lives by the ruling of a Judge. If we could imprison the wildfires, if we could arrest famines, or if we could legislate against the rising sea waters that will leave parts of Britain submerged, that would be a fantastic outcome – but the reality is that we can’t and rapid decarbonisation is the only way of preventing these horrifying outcomes.
However, the judiciary – like the police – is proving to be an effective arm of the oil and gas industry, by silencing and imprisoning members of the public taking nonviolent action against climate collapse. Future generations will be disgusted by rulings such as this.”
As the world passes tipping points that threaten the breakdown of ordered civilization, world leaders, captured by the interests of oil lobbyists and big business, are failing to protect our communities. British citizens are sick of being led by liars and crooks. Until we stop Tory oil, supporters of Just Stop Oil will continue taking proportionate action to demand necessary change. Sign up for action at juststopoil.org.
ENDS
Press contact: 07762 987334
Press email: juststopoilpress@protonmail.com
High quality images & video here:https://juststopoil.org/press-media
Website: https://juststopoil.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JustStopOil/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/just.stopoil/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustStop_Oil
Youtube: https://juststopoil.org/youtube
Notes to Editors
[1] Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups working together to demand that the government immediately halt all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK. Just Stop Oil is a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects.
Just Stop Oil ‘Blue Lights’ policy: our policy is, and has always been, to move out of the way for emergency vehicles with siren sounding and ‘blue lights’ on.
[2] https://juststopoil.org/2024/02/05/gantry-climber-faces-crown-court/
[3] https://juststopoil.org/2024/02/14/chris-packham-is-surprise-trial-witness-for-just-stop-oil-supporter-facing-a-ten-year-sentence/
[4] https://juststopoil.org/2024/02/14/trial-update-chris-packhams-moving-witness-testimony-in-just-stop-oil-crown-court-case/
[5]
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/10/heatwave-last-summer-killed-61000-people-in-europe-research-finds
*****
https://juststopoil.org/2024/02/05/gantry-climber-faces-crown-court/
Gantry climber faces Crown Court
Court & Prison, Press / February 5, 2024
Just Stop Oil supporter, Cressie Gethin, who climbed a motorway gantry above the M25 in July 2022, faces trial at Isleworth Crown Court from today. [1]
Cressie will appear before Judge Duncan charged with causing a public nuisance for climbing a gantry above the M25 on the 20th of July 2022. She was arrested alongside four other supporters of Just Stop Oil who climbed gantries in two other locations on the M25. They were demanding the government halt licensing and consents for the development of any new fossil-fuel projects in the UK.
The trial is expected to last a week. Two other Just Stop Oil supporters arrested on the day have pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance, they are due to be sentenced by the 20th of February.
Cressie Gethin, 22, a musician from Hereford said:
“I empathise sincerely with everyone who was affected by this action, and I hope that some can understand that I acted for them and their children. The 40C heatwave which prompted my actions was a taster of the avoidable suffering being facilitated by the government. In a time of crisis it becomes a moral compulsion to sound the alarm.”
The day of action on the M25 came in response to the unprecedented heatwave in July 2022 that saw temperatures in the UK rise above 40 degrees for the first time, a milestone that scientists previously thought was impossible. On the 18th of July 2022, the UK Health Security Agency and Met Office issued the first ever level-four alert, as the government declared a national emergency. Rail services were severely disrupted due to tracks buckling in the heat and overhead cables sagging and Network Rail issued a ‘do not travel’ warning on the 19th July. During the summer of 2022, an estimated 2,985 excess deaths were associated with the heat, the highest number ever recorded. Just a day prior to the hottest day on record, the high court ruled the Government’s Net Zero strategy unlawful. [2][3][4][5]
Cressie is charged with causing a public nuisance, a statutory offence under the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Earlier this month, Michel Forst, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders released a statement, which severely criticises the UK Government’s increasingly draconian treatment of peaceful climate action, suggesting that Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain supporters are being subject to “persecution, penalization or harassment”. [6]
He made reference to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, saying:
“I learned that, in the UK, peaceful protesters are being prosecuted and convicted under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, for the criminal offence of “public nuisance”, which is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.”
“It is important to highlight that, prior to these legislative developments, it had been almost unheard of since the 1930s for members of the public to be imprisoned for peaceful protest in the UK. I am therefore seriously concerned by these regressive new laws.”
Just Stop Oil supporters are refusing to allow the breakdown of ordered society and a collapse of the rule of law as a result of the selfish actions of a few. The people of the UK have had enough of the corruption and lies of those running the country and are stepping into civil resistance in order to save our communities from the worst of climate breakdown. It is not a case of ‘if’ we will win, but ‘when.’
ENDS
Press contact: 07762 987334
Press email: juststopoilpress@protonmail.com
High quality images & video here:https://juststopoil.org/press-media
Website: https://juststopoil.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JustStopOil/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/just.stopoil/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustStop_Oil
Youtube: https://juststopoil.org/youtube
Notes to Editors
[1] Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups working together to demand that the government immediately halt all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK. Just Stop Oil is a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects.
Just Stop Oil ‘Blue Lights’ policy: our policy is, and has always been, to move out of the way for emergency vehicles with siren sounding and ‘blue lights’ on.
[2] https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/binaries/content/assets/metofficegovuk/pdf/weather/learn-about/uk-past-events/interesting/2022/2022_03_july_heatwave_v1.pdf
[3] https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/news/one-year-on-from-record-breaking-40-degrees-heat-in-the-uk-and-were-still-not-prepared/
[4]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-mortality-monitoring-reports/heat-mortality-monitoring-report-2022#:~:text=During%20summer%202022%2C%20there%20were,number%20in%20any%20given%20year.
[5]
https://www.clientearth.org/latest/press-office/press/historic-high-court-ruling-finds-uk-government-s-climate-strategy-unlawful/
[6]
https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/Aarhus_SR_Env_Defenders_statement_following_visit_to_UK_10-12_Jan_2024.pdf
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