On Tuesday, a United Nations expert said that he was "alarmed" and "distressed" as environmental protesters face a severe crackdown in the United Kingdom.
Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders, reported receiving "extremely worrying information" about an increasingly severe crackdown during a two-day visit to the UK earlier this month.
UN Slams UK Crackdown on Environmental Protest
Environmental activists hold up placards during a demonstration outside the headquarters of BP (formerly British Petroleum) in central London on December 9, 2023, gathering in solidarity with people on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Climate negotiators at the COP28 talks in Dubai are tussling over the future of oil, gas and oil, responsible for the lion's share of humanity's planet-heating emissions.
Forst released a statement on Tuesday that climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution present a triple planetary crisis for the world, and environmental protesters were acting for the "benefit of us all" and must be protected. He warned that environmental and climate activists faced harsh punishments due to regressive laws, including for exercising the right to peaceful protest.
The court ruling on defendants has prevented them from explaining their motivations to the jury. Peaceful protesters have also been forbidden at the Inner London crown court from bringing up the climate crisis, fuel poverty, or even the US civil rights movement during their jury testimony.
"It is very difficult to understand what could justify denying the jury the opportunity to hear the reason for the defendant's action and how a jury could reach a properly informed decision without hearing it but ever more urgent calls for the government to take pressing action for the climate," Forst said.
The British government gave police anti-protest powers last year after years of disruptive demonstrations by environmental activists. However, Forst said that peaceful protesters were being targeted for the criminal offense of public nuisance, which carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
A peaceful climate protester who participated in a slow march for about 30 minutes last month received a six-month prison sentence. The expert noted that before introducing these regressive laws, it had been almost unheard of since the 1930s for members of the public to be imprisoned for peaceful protest in the UK.
Furthermore, he continued that it was impossible to understand that several judges had prohibited environmental protesters from explaining their motivation for protesting or mentioning climate change to the jury. Forst also slammed the British government's severe bail conditions imposed on environmental protesters.
He said that environmental protesters may be on bail for up to two years from the date of arrest to their final criminal trial. He noted that strict bail requirements could negatively affect people's personal lives and mental health.
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Climate Groups Protest in UK
Extinction Rebellion, one of the UK's most well-known climate advocacy groups, announced in January last year that it was halting its mass public disruption campaigns to build more support.
However, some groups have intensified their demonstrations. Last year, Just Stop Oil disrupted several major sporting events in England, such as Wimbledon, the World Snooker Championship, the Ashes cricket test series, and a performance of the musical "Les Misérables."
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