Just Stop Oil
 Just Stop Oil  (Activism)   | |
|---|---|
 Just Stop Oil protest on the QEII Bridge | |
| Interest of | Marcus Decker, Morgan Trowland |
Just Stop Oil is a British environmental activist group. Using civil resistance, direct action, vandalism and traffic obstruction, the group aims for the UK government to commit to ending new fossil fuel licensing and production. The group was founded in February 2022 and began protesting at English oil terminals in April 2022. The group has gained both criticism and approval of its methods of activism.[1]
Contents
2022 London protests
In 2022, Just Stop Oil staged 32 days of disruption in London from the end of September and throughout October, which the Metropolitan Police said resulted in 677 arrests with 111 people charged.[2]
M25 motorway closed
On 17 October 2022, two Just Stop Oil supporters Marcus Decker and Morgan Trowland scaled the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which connects the M25 between Essex and Kent, causing its closure. One of the climbers, Morgan Trowland, was a bridge design engineer from London. The closure resulted in six miles (ten kilometres) of congestion on both directions of the bridge. After 36 hours, the protesters agreed with police to leave the bridge, and were arrested. The bridge remained closed for another 6 hours. The two were sentenced to a combined 5 years and seven months in jail.[3]
Jail sentences
The eye-catching protest by Marcus Decker and Morgan Trowland received a similarly dramatic response after they were convicted by a jury at Southend Crown Court of causing a public nuisance. Decker was imprisoned for two years and seven months and Trowland for three years. Passing down the longest sentences in UK history for non-violent direct action, Judge Shane Collery said he wanted to deter others from copycat actions. The men, he said, had caused a very important road to be closed, and disrupted travel for many tens of thousands of people. The Judge looked at the press gallery as he said to both of them
"You plainly believed you knew better than everyone else … In short, to hell with everyone else."[4]
UN rapporteur's concerns
Long sentences handed to two Just Stop Oil protesters for scaling the M25 bridge over the Thames are a potential breach of international law and risk silencing public concerns about the environment, a UN expert has said.
In a strongly worded intervention, Ian Fry, the UN’s rapporteur for climate change and human rights, said he was “particularly concerned” about the sentences, which were “significantly more severe than previous sentences imposed for this type of offending in the past”.
- “I am gravely concerned about the potential flow-on effect that the severity of the sentences could have on civil society and the work of activists, expressing concerns about the triple planetary crisis and, in particular, the impacts of climate change on human rights and on future generations.”
- Noting Decker and Trowland’s rights to peaceful protest, Fry asked the UK government to explain “why, in light of the current climate crisis, it was necessary to introduce and pass the Public Order Act and how both the Public Order Act and the sentencing of Mr Decker and Mr Trowland are compatible with international norms and standards”, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
- He demanded ministers indicate “what steps have been taken … to ensure that non–governmental organisations, civil society organisations and all human rights defenders can carry out their peaceful work free from threat, violence, harassment or retaliation or any sort”.[5]
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:High-stakes fight for one tree comes to an autumnal crunch | Article | 19 November 2023 | Tim Adams | "If insurers are allowed to succeed here it will threaten many thousands of trees across the country", says barrister Paul Powlesland. "The fact is we all have a stake in Haringey's Oakfield plane – as long as it still stands." |
References
- ↑ "Just Stop Oil: Protesters block 10 oil terminals and force Exxon Mobil UK to suspend operations"
- ↑ "Just Stop Oil protesters bring parts of M25 to halt for second day"
- ↑ "Dartford Bridge protester warned not to talk to media from prison, says partner"
- ↑ "Dartford Bridge protester warned not to talk to media from prison, says partner"
- ↑ "Just Stop Oil protesters’ jail terms potentially breach international law, UN expert says"
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