Seven Just Stop Oil supporters are due to appear at Birmingham Crown Court at 10:30am today charged with contempt of court for breaking a North Warwickshire Borough Council injunction and failing to attend court on a previous occasion. [1]
All seven have all broken the injunction more than once by standing peacefully outside the Kingsbury Oil Terminal in order to demand an end to new North Sea oil and gas.
The Warwickshire injunction gives sweeping powers of arrest to the authorities and appears designed to help the state protect the oil industry by effectively outlawing any protest activity near the Kingsbury Terminal, the largest inland oil storage depot in the country. Breaking the injunction incurs a charge of contempt of court which carries potential penalties of up to two years in prison and unlimited fines.[2]
Six of the group were among those summoned to Birmingham County Court on Thursday 12th May but who instead chose to attend a further protest at Kingsbury. The seventh, Michelle Charlesworth, who has been imprisoned since 4th May, was also due in court last Thursday but refused to leave her cell at HMP Foston Hall continuing her campaign of non-complicance. With the exception of Victoria Lindsell all are currently on remand at either HMP Foston Hall or HMP Birmingham.
Victoria Lindsell, 66 from Warwickshire said
“I am taking this action as part of Just Stop Oil and because I feel it is my moral duty to stand up for the truth and to express this as strongly as possible. The government is failing to act to avoid the undeniable and catastrophic effects of the climate emergency. They are planning to open over 40 new oil fields. We have the answers but this government is choosing to put profit before people.”
Beth Garrett, 35, from West Yorkshire said
“Just recently the concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere reached 420 CO2 ppm – a level that is ultimately incompatible with the sort of home we are used to on this earth. This will cause catastrophic warming and lead to immense suffering and I can’t stand by and let that happen.
“This is why myself and others have moved into a state of non-violent civil resistance, it’s why we do unpopular things, why we block roads, and why we risk our assets being seized and our liberty being taken away. We are trying to generate political will, at speed, for government policies or plans that might ensure a survivable future for everyone. “
Just Stop Oil supporters are being charged and imprisoned for telling the truth about the government’s genocidal pursuit of new oil and gas. We have made a conscious choice to resist the destruction of humanity and we are prepared to accept the consequences. We don’t need you to feel sorry for us, we need you to join us, to step up and take action. Join our zoom calls at 7pm. It’s 2022 and the time to stand by has passed.
ENDS
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Notes to Editors
[1] Michelle Charlesworth, 55, from Oxfordshire, Beth Garrett, 35, from West Yorkshire, Hannah Torrance Bright, 20, from Glasgow, Karen Wildin, 58, from Leicestershire, Rajan Naidu, 71, from Birmingham, Joe Howlett, 32, from Somerset and Victoria Lindsell, 66, from Warwickshire
[2] https://www.northwarks.gov.uk/downloads/file/9139/injunction_order
