Jan Goodey, one time Just Stop Oil prisoner, was in court for the recent trial of the JSO M25 crew. SchNEWS spoke to him.
The five were convicted of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance, based on a Zoom call made to recruit activists that a Sun journalist infiltrated. The Zoom call aimed to recruit activists to shut down the M25. They copped some of the most severe sentences handed down to peaceful protestors since the animal rights trials of the early 2000s.
Just Stop Oil, the radical offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, shot into public visibility with a series of eye-catching stunts, throwing soup, running onto pitches, and painting everything in sight orange. Behind that has been solid work shutting down oil refineries, blocking roads, and generally, love ‘em or hate ‘em, making the issue of new oil exploration impossible to ignore.
The state was not slow to respond, with a campaign of public demonisation and the issuing of new laws. The trial itself at Southwark Crown Court (July 2024) was itself a challenge to the legal system, with the defendants refusing to comply with judicial direction not to mention the climate crisis. Rather than let the jury hear the scientific truth Judge Hehir sent them out while threatening consequences to those in the dock.
Outside and in the public gallery, there was a meeting of the tribes, XR stalwarts, radical anarchists, young animal liberation activists, and Palestine Action, all there to raise Cain about the skewed British justice system.
Huda Ammori, from Palestine Action: “It is mandatory that these charges across the movement are dropped …until the factories [UK bomb-makers funding Israeli army operations] are shut down, until we stop this climate crisis, we will all continue the fight on whichever front we act on, we are united in our fight.”
Jan Goodey: “Hallam and the others are selfless individuals and the most determined you could meet. When he got sent down at Southwark to do another spell in Wandsworth, he looked from beyond the dock exit with a fixed glare of the unbowed. Louise Lancaster was the same, peaceful, intelligent defiance. They all stood their ground, self-repping in court and in the process bringing naive eloquence (especially Cressida Gethin, do read her mitigation) to a courtroom stuffed full of cynicism: police intelligence officers, court officials, and the massed media.”
Just Stop Oil is urging everyone to join the fight; from your hardened Class War anarchist to Quaker peaceniks. In these times with environmentalists in prison for one, two right up to five years, the time is right to scrap expediency, as Hallam said recently from HMP Wandsworth, and act on integrity. The point is that the only way out of the present predicament is mass civil resistance and going that extra mile.
With the new Labour government promising a ban on new oil and gas licences in the North Sea in almost the first week in power – is it possible that Just Stop Oil might have put this ball in the back of the net?
JSO And Other Climate Campaigns
Just Stop Oil – non-violent direct action for climate justice – juststopoil.org
Extinction Rebellion – epochal global climate justice movement – extinctionrebellion.uk
Stop Rosebank – protest to stop new oil field off Shetland coast – stopcambo.org.uk
Coal Action Network – grassroots campaigns to stop fossil fuel extraction – coalaction.org.uk
Green New Deal Rising – movement of young people fighting for social and climate justice – gndrising.org
Tyre Extinguishers – climate change campaign letting tyres down on SUVs and 4WDs – tyreextinguishers.com
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