As with the majority of protest arrests (if you do a NO COMMENT interview), though there’s been a load of people arrested recently, they’ve released without charge, on bail to return to a police station.
This gives the CPS time to decide what to do, but also hinders protest because the police can dictate punative bail restrictions.
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M1 Conspiracy Case Thrown Out
1st May 2008
Seven climate camp activists against the widening of the M1(1*) had the case against them dismissed from Sheffield Crown Court yesterday. Charged with conspiracy to cause a public nuisance Judge Robinson said that: “there was not a jot of evidence” for a jury to infer an endangerment of any member of the public.
Seven climate camp activists against the widening of the M1(1*) had the case against them dismissed from Sheffield Crown Court today. Charged with conspiracy to cause a public nuisance Judge Robinson said that: “there was not a jot of evidence” for a jury to infer an endangerment of any member of the public.
Arrested over a year ago the protesters had their houses raided with property such as computers and phones taken and held for the duration of the investigation.
This ruling in the midst of a crack down (2*) on green protest sets a precedent for policing of environmental demonstrations. The Judge resoundingly rejected the prosecution’s argument that the hanging of banners over the motorway would constitute a public nuisance. He went on to say: “that all of the available material (presented to
the court) is consistent only with peaceful protest.”
Campaign spokesperson Dr Julie White, a GP from Sheffield, said: “this is victory for the right to protest in the face of government policy of expanding roads, runways and coal-fired power stations in a time of climate crisis.”
The activists say that the experience has not deterred them from taking action against the root causes of climate change and will be attending the Camp for Climate Action(3*) at Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent this August.
Contact Julie White on 0779851073.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1*) The Department of Transport have decided against widening the M1 any further: http://www.nowideningm1.org.uk/
2*) this month the Sunday Herald reported that protestors in Scotland had been harassed by police after peaceful demonstrations: http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2210574.0.protesters_police_treated_us_like_terrorists.php
3*)The Camp for Climate Action went to Heathrow last summer over the building of a third runway this year it will pitch up at Kingsnorth over the potential building of the UK’s first new coal-fired power station for 30 years:
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/
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Bacton gas terminal 19
On 1st April, EF!ers blockaded the gas terminal at Bacton to celebrate Fossil Fools Day. The police tried to arrest everyone, and got 19 people. For a full report, see http://earthfirst.org.uk/actionreports/node/20420
Due to return to a rural Norfolk police station, people were keen to phone up the police station to find out what was happening. The police had not taken any decision, and a few days before decided to drop charges against all but 3 people locked-on who got off with cautions.
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Police drop charges against Wunderman protestors
The three activists arrested following the invasion of Wunderman’s offices have had all charges against them dropped.
The environmentalists, from direct action group London Rising Tide, had been charged with “burglary of pens, paper and phone calls”.
They were held after staging a four-hour sit-in over two of parent agency Y&R’s key clients – Land Rover and BAE Systems.
The action was part of a worldwide campaign against climate change, dubbed Fossil Fools Day. In the UK, the group also staged demonstrations outside Porsche dealerships, the head office of E-on, and a coal mine in Wales.
The three activists managed to get into the Y&R building –Greater London House on Hampstead Road, NW1 – by posing as executives from a newly-privatised wing of the MoD called HarrionProjects, a spoof company whose centrepiece is the Harrion, a civilian version of the Harrier Jump-Jet.
Once inside, they barricaded themselves into the conference room, opposite Wunderman EMEA chief executive Marcus Starke’s office.