The British government has sentenced environmental activists to up to five years in prison for organizing a non-violent protest via Zoom, putting democracy and human rights in the UK under threat.
The activists were convicted of conspiracy to cause public nuisance, with the authorities arresting them for planning, not holding, the protests. This incident has highlighted a perceived double standard in the UK’s approach to civil liberties, especially given its history of condemning countries like Malawi and other African nations for blocking or banning protests.
The UK’s decision to imprison the activists for planning a protest, rather than for protesting itself, spirals the country into authoritarianism.
The activists were told they had “crossed the line from concerned campaigners to fanatics” before being handed lengthy jail terms, which some have likened to measures used by dictatorial regimes.
The five activists are Roger Hallam, Daniel Shaw, Louise Lancaster, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, and Cressida Gethin.
According to The Guardian, Hallam received a five-year sentence, while the other four were each sentenced to four years.
The newspaper reports that their sentences relate to a Zoom call where the activists discussed plans to hold the protests.
Meanwhile, the UN has condemned the UK over its decision to arrest the five activists.
“Today is a dark day for peaceful protest [and] this sentence should shock the conscience of any member of the public. It should also put all of us on high alert on the state of civic rights and freedoms in the United Kingdom,” said the UN Special Rapporteur.
Both the Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera and the African Union’s Chairperson Mohamed Ould Ghazouani have yet to comment on the state of human rights for activists in the UK or communicate with their counterpart, the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
Chakwera, like Starmer, has been persistently arresting journalists and activists such as Bon Kalindo. The people targeted are those who hold dissident views and expose corruption.
According to local commentators, the UK’s draconian laws banning protests make some of the worst dictatorships a paradise for dissidents and environmental activists.
