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Climate activists’ convictions quashed by Court of Appeal

(Sorry for the delay in publishing this news.)

On 20 July convictions against 20 climate activists were quashed by the Court of Appeal after it was revealed that key evidence was deliberately withheld from their trial.

The activists made this statement:

“We are 20 of the 114 people who were preemptively arrested near E.ON’s Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal power station over two years ago. During our trial last year we argued that our plan to safely shut down the power station was necessary in order to protect the ever escalating numbers of people dying as a result of climate change. We later found out our trial was rigged by the police and CPS to get convictions.

“Through placing undercover officers in our movement, using mass preemptive arrest and rigging our trial, the state has deliberately attempted to silence dissenting voices. This quelling of dissent, now repeated in the young people facing prison for protesting against the attacks on public services, is fundamentally undemocratic. It is yet another example of those in power protecting their own interests.

“Whether it’s E.ON Energy or News International, the government and police have a track record of colluding with big business. We need to look at the root causes of climate change, and ask why the profits of corporations such as E.ON are being prioritised over future generations, and the millions already on the front line of our changing climate. Taking action on climate change is not an act of moral righteousness, its about protecting our future. History is full of examples of ordinary people acting to defend their rights and those of others, and we need a strong movement of people doing just that.

“Winning this appeal is just one small victory in the fight against the systemically political nature of policing. We stand in solidarity with all those have suffered injustice from the state or face repression for daring to take political action.”

In his judgment the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said that the convictions had been a miscarriage of justice, and that something had gone “seriously wrong with the trial” when the prosecution failed to disclose evidence which would have “significantly undermined” their case.

The full judgment can be found here: http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/barkshire-others-v-r.pdf