On January 29, the United Kingdom Court of Appeal will begin an appeal hearing for 16 environmental protesters from the group Just Stop Oil who are contesting their “unduly harsh” sentences for a range of nonviolent civil disobedience protests.
In July, four of today’s appellants received record sentences of up to 21 years in prison for their peaceful climate activism. The United Nations and other organizations have condemned the UK’s crackdown on peaceful protests, describing the protesters’ lengthy sentences as “a very dark day for fundamental human rights in the UK.”
The case is seen as an important bellwether for the health of Britain’s democracy, which has come under heightened scrutiny as authorities introduce increasingly authoritarian anti-protest measures.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 introduced sweeping restrictions on peaceful protest, including restrictions on noise levels. It also increased the penalty for willful obstruction of a highway from a £1000 fine to an unlimited fine and/or six months imprisonment (since increased to up to 51 weeks).
In 2023, these restrictions were tightened further with the Public Order Act and other new regulations. These expanded stop and search powers, introduced orders banning people from participating in protests, and criminalized certain types of protests, including attaching oneself to buildings or objects. A new definition of “serious disruption” lowered the threshold for police intervention in protests that may prevent or hinder, in more than a minor way, individuals or organizations undertaking day-to-day activities.
UK-based organization Liberty has successfully challenged some of these measures, with the High Court ruling in August that the previous government acted unlawfully in lowering the threshold. Unfortunately, the new Labour government is continuing the appeal brought by its predecessor and the threshold remains in place until the case concludes. Meanwhile, hundreds of peaceful protesters continue to be charged, arrested, and imprisoned.
The right to protest is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy and British politicians are failing to protect this right. In a statement regarding the crackdown on protesters in Bangladesh last July, government Minister Catherine West stated that “The rights to protest, to peacefully assemble and to express different political views are rights which the UK holds dear and must be protected.” Her government’s decision to defend oppressive laws in court suggests they apply a different standard at home.
Today’s hearing is a landmark case and an important test for both the rule of law and democracy in the UK.