When five activists who brought chaos to the M25 motorway were jailed last week, some thought the law had finally caught up with Just Stop Oil.
Celebrities spoke out in anger at the lengthy sentences - and a United Nations official described their treatment as “not acceptable in a democracy”.
With Roger Hallam, the architect of the modern environmental protest movement, and his co-conspirators now behind bars, this might have been “checkmate” in a five-year long game of legal chess between the state and a group of increasingly bold direct action environmental groups.
But at least for some Just Stop Oil (JSO) activists, it doesn’t appear to have worked.
On Wednesday ten of them were arrested at Heathrow Airport after a suspected plot to block the runway was foiled at last minute.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise, because getting jailed was always part of the strategy for JSO. It is one of the first things that new joiners are asked: would you be locked up?
Speaking to the BBC exclusively in a recorded message from his prison cell this week, Hallam stood by his actions.
“The strategic moral imperative is resistance to the greatest [crisis] in the history of humanity”, the JSO co-founder said.
Direct action remains “the right strategy”, he added, confident that while in the short run some people may be deterred, others will only grow more determined.
It begs the question of what Just Stop Oil is planning next - and whether they’re about to outpace the law once again.
To whom it may concern
We’re appealing to the new Attorney General to stop this madness. Sign the Petition for the release of Roger Hallam (petition link is behind Cloudflare, fyi)
There is also an entry at Roger Hallam’s blog: I’ve Been Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison - Here’s Why
I understand that this is simply the consequence of trying to block a runway, but I don’t think it’s going to scare anyone off. Everyone involved knew what they were doing and if anything this is going to drive further activism. I wonder when we’ll start seeing more serious forms of sabotage, it’s just a matter of time.
That being said, so many people I know fly without consciously considering the consequences. Personally I don’t even fly for business, I rather just spend less.
Very sad story but let me take this opportunity to comment on part of the article quoted below. Stop using Twitter. After Musk bought it (and forced the silly name of X) moderation of Twitter is severely broken. It would be good if people move away from Twitter and use other platforms. Especially now that Musk is endorsing Donald Trump and sharing fake videos.
From the https://rogerhallam.com/5-years-in-prison story :
The judge began the next morning by bizarrely reading out my Twitter feed, which alerted my followers to the fact I wasn’t allowed to give my whole defence and called for support for a presence outside the court. But then he moved on to gleefully recounting some of the various trolls – why this was any part of a serious trial, no one could fathom. I was ordered to take them down by lunchtime or I’d be in contempt of court. This is a British judge in 2024.
At least these guys are doing something about the elephant in the room.
I don’t think it’s been effective yet. But you are right, i have no idea what else can be done.
I would say it is. People know the name of their movement.
