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As right-wing rioters attacked communities with racist violence across parts of the UK last month, 22-year-old climate activist Cressie Gethin sat in a prison cell.
Her crime was organizing a disruptive protest against new government-granted licenses to drill for oil in the North Sea.
In late July, a London court found Gethin and four other members of the Just Stop Oil activist group guilty of "conspiring intentionally to cause a public nuisance," 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 Zoom call, disrupted more than 700,000 drivers, caused economic damage of over £760,000 ($980,000) and racked up £1 million ($1.3 million) in policing costs.
Now Gethin and three others are serving four-year jail terms, while Just Stop Oil co-founder Roger Hallam was given five years. All are appealing. The sentences are believed to be the longest in the UK's history for non-violent protest and were delivered under two new controversial laws.
Britain's Home Office did not respond to CNN's questions about whether the new Labour government will reevaluate the laws, but said: "We recognize the democratic right that people must be free to peacefully express their views, but they should do so within the bounds of the law."
Read more at the link in our bio.
📸: Denise Baker/Just Stop Oil | Leon Neal/Getty Images
