Dressed as suffragettes, the women gave out leaflets and talked to the public about the massive increase in protest sentences in recent months. On 29th and 30th January, 16 climate protesters from four separate trials will appeal against their sentences at the Royal Courts of Justice. Oxford residents will join hundreds of others outside the courts to draw attention to the appeals, and to highlight the influence of the lobbyist Lord Walney (John Woodcock) on recent sentencing.
The suffragettes were protesters who were criminalised and derided in their lifetimes but are much revered today. Lord Walney, the government’s ‘independent’ advisor on domestic extremism, has called for a ban on nonviolent climate and pro-Palestine protest groups, yet the overwhelming majority (83%) of the public support the right to peaceful and nonviolent protest.
The action in Oxford made this point, drawing public attention to the extremity of the current sentencing regime. It also added to pressure on the government to end Walney’s advisory role, given the conflicts of interest presented by his employment as a lobbyist for the oil and arms industries.
Oxford resident April Jones, a mother and campaigner, said, “I took action in Oxford on the 24th, and I’ll be outside the Royal Courts of Justice, with almost 1,000 other people, on the 30th because this matters to all of us. Anyone who disagrees with how the government of the day is doing things, they will need the right to express that, in an effective way, without fear that they could lose their liberty for years simply for acting non-violently in accordance with their conscience. That right is disappearing before our eyes: we need bold, united action now to save it.”
Ines Smyth, a local resident who joined the protest, added: “We owe a lot to those who, like the suffragettes, struggled for our rights. Today I joined with other women in Oxford to protest against the imprisonment of peaceful individuals for non-violent protest. Sixteen of them, with a combined prison sentence of 41 years, will appear in the Court of Appeal at the end of the month.”
With thanks to April Jones.
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