Final sentences are more lenient than time already spent in custody in the majority of relevant cases.
Courts in Britain have increasingly used remand detention, contempt proceedings and lengthy custodial sentences to lock up those taking direct action against climate breakdown and the destruction of Gaza.
A new report, Britain’s Political Prisoners, was co-published by researchers at the Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice at Queen Mary University of London and Defend Our Juries.
Researchers documented 286 cases involving climate and Palestine solidarity protestors imprisoned since 2019. In the 256 cases where sentencing and remand data could be verified, the total amount of jail time imposed amounted to 136 years.
Imprisoned
Professor David Whyte of the Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice at Queen Mary said: “This report documents a remarkable shift in how protest is being policed and punished in Britain. Our findings show the routine use of remand exceeding statutory time limits.
"Exceptionally high levels of contempt proceedings and custodial sentencing in response to acts of civil disobedience and direct action show that the courts are progressively degrading the right to protest.”
The report argues that recent years have seen significant changes in the legal and political landscape surrounding protest in Britain, with expanded anti-protest legislation and the increased use of civil legal mechanisms contributing to harsher penalties for protest-related activity.
The report finds evidence that such measures have been supported by key industry and political interests tied to the British-Israeli arms industry and the fossil fuel industry and that the British government has been pressured directly by Elbit Systems and the Israeli government to deal more harshly with protestors.
Key findings from the report shows that: the average detention period was 28 weeks, equivalent to more than six months; one in three protestors were jailed for six months or more; one in five were imprisoned for more than a year.
Solidarity
The researchers also found that in 60 per cent of cases, final sentences were more lenient than the time already spent in custody on remand; the most common category of offence leading to imprisonment was contempt of court, accounting for 40 per cent of cases recorded; conspiracy offences accounted for 17 per cent of cases analysed.
Tim Crosland, from Defend Our Juries, said: “This report strips away the illusion that Britain remains committed to democratic principles. It reveals that peaceful protestors are being jailed in ever increasing numbers, under pressure from the oil and arms industries, the Israeli government and their lobbyists.
"Most shocking of all is the finding concerning the use of remand. In the majority of cases, final sentences are more lenient than time already spent in custody before people have been convicted of anything. It would be dishonest to present this as anything other than punishment without trial.”
The report argues that the growing use of contempt of court proceedings and conspiracy charges has enabled courts to impose custodial sentences in ways that can limit access to jury trials and expand pre-emptive forms of punishment.
The analysis also found that Palestine solidarity protestors experienced particularly lengthy periods of remand detention, with 60 per cent held for longer than six months before sentencing.
This Author
Brendan Montague is an editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Defend Our Juries.
