#Quakers condemn arrests of #activists at meeting house

March 30, 2025

"The arrests of six female supporters of activist group #YouthDemand at a Quaker meeting house have been condemned by the faith group.

"Quakers in #Britain said the arrests were the first at a meeting house and 'an aggressive violation'.

"The Metropolitan Police said six people were arrested on Thursday evening at the Westminster Meeting House on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a #PublicNuisance.

"The force said it came amid concerns there were plans to 'shut down' London during April using tactics such as road blocks.

"Youth Demand said more than 30 officers were involved with making the arrests.

"Paul Parker, of Quakers in Britain, said he could not recall anyone being arrested at a Quaker meeting house in living memory.

"'The forceful removal of young people holding a protest group meeting clearly shows what happens when a society #CriminalisesProtest.

"'#FreedomOfSpeech, assembly, and fair trials are an essential part of free public debate which underpins #democracy,' he said.

"Police said a further five arrests for the same offence were made on Friday - four at addresses in #London and one in #Exeter.

"Youth Demand, which is not affiliated with the Quakers, said the meeting was 'an opportunity to share plans for non-violent #CivilResistance actions' due to take place in April.

"The group claimed a number of houses were also raided on Thursday and Friday as part of the operation.

"Quakers in Britain said: 'Quakers support the right to non-violent public protest, acting themselves from a deep moral imperative to stand up against #injustice and for our planet.

"'Many have taken non-violent direct action over the centuries from the abolition of #slavery to women's #suffrage and prison reform.'

"The Met said the force understood the importance of the right to protest but added that Youth Demand had stated an intention to 'shut down' London in April.

"'We have a responsibility to intervene to prevent activity that crosses the line from protest into serious disruption and other criminality,' a spokesman said.

"On Thursday, officers raided a Youth Demand planning meeting where those in attendance were plotting their April action.

"Six people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

"A further five arrests for the same offence were made on Friday, 28 March. Four of the arrests were at addresses in London and one in Exeter.

'Policing priorities'

"Out of the 11 people arrested, 10 have been released on bail and one will face no further action.

"Asked about the matter on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'I have made clear to the police this government's priorities for policing are reducing serious violence... and bringing back neighbourhood policing, those crimes in town centres like shoplifting.'

"Youth Demand, which describes itself as a 'new youth resistance campaign fighting for an end to #genocide', began carrying out acts of #CivilDisobedience last year.

"Its demands of the government include stopping all trade with #Israel and raising money from 'the #SuperRich and #Fossilfuel #elite' to pay damages for the effects of fossil fuel burning."

Read more:
https://bbc.com/news/articles/cj3x5j6g30ro
#UKPol #ThoughtCrime #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingActivism #PublicNuisanceLaws #Article20 #2023PublicOrderAct #Resistance #UKResistance #ProtectMotherEarth #FreePalestine #IsraeliWarCrimes

And how much economic damage is from climate change and pollution from #FossilFuels? #BigOil is the real criminal here!

#ClimateProtesters are taking action against Big Oil. UK courts are handing them prison terms akin to rapists and thieves

By Kara Fox, CNN
September 14, 2024

London CNN — "As #RightWing rioters attacked communities with #racist violence across parts of the UK last month, 22-year-old #ClimateActivist #CressieGethin sat in a prison cell.

"Her crime? Organizing a disruptive protest against new government-granted licenses to drill for oil — a planet-heating #FossilFuel — in the #NorthSea.

"In late July, a London court found #Gethin and four other members of the #JustStopOil activist group guilty of 'conspiring intentionally to cause a #PublicNuisance,' after recruiting protesters to climb structures along the M25 — a major ring road around London — bringing traffic to a standstill in parts over four days in November 2022.

"Prosecutors alleged that the protests, organized over a #ZoomCall, disrupted more than 700,000 drivers, caused economic damage of over £760,000 ($980,000) and racked up £1 million ($1.3m) in policing costs.

"Now Gethin and three others — Louise Lancaster, #DanielShaw and #LuciaWhittakerDeAbreu, who planned the disruption on the call — are serving four-year jail terms, while Just Stop Oil co-founder #RogerHallam was given five years. All are appealing.

"The sentences are believed to be the longest in the UK’s history for #nonviolent protest and were delivered under two new controversial laws that supercharged #policing powers to crack down on disruptive protests, even when they are peaceful.

"They place the act of planning a 'public nuisance' event, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, on a similar footing as #ViolentCrimes like robbery, for which punishments range from community service to 12 years’ jail, or rape, which is four to 19 years.

"The judge — who in court referred to the activists as '#extremists' — justified the long jail terms because all five activists had previously been convicted of one or more offenses in relation to direct action protest. Each were on bail for another set of proceedings when the Zoom call took place. He also noted people missed important doctor’s visits and funerals because of the protest.

"But activists like Gethin say their demonstrations are proportionate to the problem at hand — a rapidly warming world that threatens to transform life as we know it, through deadly #ExtremeWeather events and by pushing #ecosystems to their brinks. They are now battling the bolstered powers of the #police and courts to get their point across.

“'A very harsh sentence like this doesn’t make sense morally or legally — but it does make sense politically,' Gethin told CNN in a handwritten letter from HMP Bronzefield, a women’s prison just south of London’s Heathrow Airport.

"The laws have drawn criticism from the UN’s special rapporteur on #EnvironmentalDefenders, #MichaelForst, who said not only do they criminalize peaceful protest, but they are being enforced in 'punitive and repressive' ways."

Read more:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/14/climate/uk-climate-protests-policing-laws-prison-intl/index.html

#BigOilAndGas #ClimateActivists #ClimateProtest #SLAPPs #CorporateColonialism #WaterDefenders
#ClimateDefenders
#EnvironmentalActivists
#SilencingDissent #SLAPPs #ClimateActivists #CorporateColonialism
#EarthDefenders #CriminalizingDissent #FreeSpeech #RightToProtest #BiodiversityNecessityDefense
#EarthDefenders
#SLAPPs #Fascism #CivilDisobedience
#Activism #ClimateStrike
#HumanRights #Article20 #2023PublicOrderAct #ClimateNecessityDefense #Corporatocracy #CorporateFascism #ClimateCrisis #ClimateCatastrophe