Six Just Stop Oil supporters will appear at Northampton Crown Court, on Tuesday the 24th January at 10am, in relation to disrupting the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, on the 3rd of July 2022. [1]
Louis McKechnie, David Baldwin, Emily Brocklebank, Alasdair Gibson, Bethany Mogie, & Joshua Smith are charged with Conspiracy to Cause a Public Nuisance, for peacefully sitting on the Formula 1 track at Silverstone, after the race had been halted in the aftermath of a collision. The Just Stop Oil supporters were demanding no new fossil-fuel projects in the UK. [2]
Louis Mckechnie is being held at HMP Peterborough, and has been imprisoned for over 202 days, without trial, since the 3rd July 2022. Joshua Smith was recently released on bail after serving 170 days in prison, without trial. All other defendants have been electronically tagged, under house-arrest with various curfews. All those standing trial have pleaded not-guilty. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.
Meanwhile, a further four Just Stop Oil supporters will also be appearing at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court at 10am, on the 23rd January, for peacefully disrupting the Birmingham Esso Fuel Terminal on the 3rd April 2022. [3]
Jake Handling, Ruth Lanser, Hannah Torrence-Bright and Abigail Percy-Ratcliffe are charged with aggravated trespass and have all pleaded not-guilty. The trial is expected to last three to four days.
Since the Just Stop Oil campaign began on April 1st 2022, there have been over 2,000 arrests and 150 people have spent time in prison. There are currently 10 Just Stop Oil supporters in prison awaiting trial or serving sentences for actions taken with the campaign.
We stand with our 10 supporters in prison, with the 1,800 victims of our broken criminal justice system imprisoned for over a year without trial and with the 1,700 murdered across the global south, for protecting all our lives. This is the moment for us to come together and resist the destruction of everything we love, something that is being imposed on us by a few, who only seek to enrich themselves. We’re done with begging. We are going to stop new fossil fuel projects whether those in power agree or not. As citizens, parents and children, we have every right under British law to protect ourselves and those we love. We are the last generation who can solve this. Will you step up? Join us and Just Stop Oil. [4][5]
[1] Just Stop Oil is a coalition of groups working together to demand that the government immediately halt all future licensing and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK. Just Stop Oil is a member of the A22 Network of civil resistance projects. Climate Emergency Fund is Just Stop Oil’s primary funder for recruitment, training, and capacity building.
[2] https://juststopoil.org/2022/07/03/just-stop-oil-supporters-invade-the-track-at-silverstone-disrupting-the-british-grand-prix/
[3] https://juststopoil.org/2022/04/03/just-stop-oil-blocks-critical-oil-facilities-for-the-third-day-in-a-row-demanding-an-end-to-new-oil-and-gas/
[4] Fair Trials reports that the number of people being held in prison without trial in England and Wales is at its highest for over 50 years, with 1,800 people in prison without trial for at least a year.
[5] A recent report from Global Witness says that more than 1,700 people have died while trying to prevent mining, oil drilling or logging on their lands.
