#environmentalactivists — Public Fediverse posts

🚨 We all knew this would be coming... Don't like polluters? TOUGH SHIT! You're under arrest!!!

#FBI #Counterterrorism Agents Spent Weeks Seeking a #ClimateActivist — Then Showed Up at His Door

The visit suggests a possible FBI probe into #ExtinctionRebellionNYC as the Trump administration increases surveillance of #activist groups.

Jacqueline Sweet, February 12 2026

Excerpt: "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, at least one of whom works on counterterrorism, went to the home of a former member of a #ClimateActivism group for questioning last week, potentially signaling a new escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to criminalize #nonprofits and #ActivistGroups as #DomesticTerrorists.

"Two FBI agents, one from New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, told a former member of Extinction Rebellion NYC they wanted to ask him about the group at his home upstate on Friday, an attorney for the group told The Intercept. The visit followed a prior attempt to reach him at his old address.

"The FBI’s apparent probe of Extinction Rebellion NYC comes as the Justice Department ramps up its surveillance of activists protesting immigration enforcement and the Trump administration creates secret lists of domestic enemies under Trump’s National Security Presidential #Memorandum7, or #NSPM7.

" 'I believe this to be a significant escalation of the criminal legal system against #XR and find it very troubling,' said Ron Kuby, the Extinction Rebellion attorney. 'This is usually the way we find out an actual investigation is underway and is often followed by other visits and other actions.'

"The former Extinction Rebellion member, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, said that the visit came after a phone call in January from a special agent that he assumed was a scam.

" 'I was skeptical the phone call was really from the FBI, but after I declined to speak with the agent, she said that she was standing outside my door,' he said. She was actually at the activist’s former address, which he said made him additionally dubious. But last week, when the agents showed up at his current address, he said he saw the agent’s business card through his door."

Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/fbi-counterterror-extinction-rebellion/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4Nq3X

#USPol #ExtinctionRebellion #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EPAFail #Polluters #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy #EnvironmentalActivists #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ResistFascism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #BigBrother #NineteenEightyFour #SilencingDissent #SilencingFreeSpeech #CorporationsAreTheRealTerrorists

🚨 We all knew this would be coming... Don't like polluters? TOUGH SHIT! You're under arrest!!!

#FBI #Counterterrorism Agents Spent Weeks Seeking a #ClimateActivist — Then Showed Up at His Door

The visit suggests a possible FBI probe into #ExtinctionRebellionNYC as the Trump administration increases surveillance of #activist groups.

Jacqueline Sweet, February 12 2026

Excerpt: "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, at least one of whom works on counterterrorism, went to the home of a former member of a #ClimateActivism group for questioning last week, potentially signaling a new escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to criminalize #nonprofits and #ActivistGroups as #DomesticTerrorists.

"Two FBI agents, one from New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, told a former member of Extinction Rebellion NYC they wanted to ask him about the group at his home upstate on Friday, an attorney for the group told The Intercept. The visit followed a prior attempt to reach him at his old address.

"The FBI’s apparent probe of Extinction Rebellion NYC comes as the Justice Department ramps up its surveillance of activists protesting immigration enforcement and the Trump administration creates secret lists of domestic enemies under Trump’s National Security Presidential #Memorandum7, or #NSPM7.

" 'I believe this to be a significant escalation of the criminal legal system against #XR and find it very troubling,' said Ron Kuby, the Extinction Rebellion attorney. 'This is usually the way we find out an actual investigation is underway and is often followed by other visits and other actions.'

"The former Extinction Rebellion member, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, said that the visit came after a phone call in January from a special agent that he assumed was a scam.

" 'I was skeptical the phone call was really from the FBI, but after I declined to speak with the agent, she said that she was standing outside my door,' he said. She was actually at the activist’s former address, which he said made him additionally dubious. But last week, when the agents showed up at his current address, he said he saw the agent’s business card through his door."

Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/fbi-counterterror-extinction-rebellion/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4Nq3X

#USPol #ExtinctionRebellion #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EPAFail #Polluters #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy #EnvironmentalActivists #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ResistFascism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #BigBrother #NineteenEightyFour #SilencingDissent #SilencingFreeSpeech #CorporationsAreTheRealTerrorists

🚨 We all knew this would be coming... Don't like polluters? TOUGH SHIT! You're under arrest!!!

#FBI #Counterterrorism Agents Spent Weeks Seeking a #ClimateActivist — Then Showed Up at His Door

The visit suggests a possible FBI probe into #ExtinctionRebellionNYC as the Trump administration increases surveillance of #activist groups.

Jacqueline Sweet, February 12 2026

Excerpt: "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, at least one of whom works on counterterrorism, went to the home of a former member of a #ClimateActivism group for questioning last week, potentially signaling a new escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to criminalize #nonprofits and #ActivistGroups as #DomesticTerrorists.

"Two FBI agents, one from New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, told a former member of Extinction Rebellion NYC they wanted to ask him about the group at his home upstate on Friday, an attorney for the group told The Intercept. The visit followed a prior attempt to reach him at his old address.

"The FBI’s apparent probe of Extinction Rebellion NYC comes as the Justice Department ramps up its surveillance of activists protesting immigration enforcement and the Trump administration creates secret lists of domestic enemies under Trump’s National Security Presidential #Memorandum7, or #NSPM7.

" 'I believe this to be a significant escalation of the criminal legal system against #XR and find it very troubling,' said Ron Kuby, the Extinction Rebellion attorney. 'This is usually the way we find out an actual investigation is underway and is often followed by other visits and other actions.'

"The former Extinction Rebellion member, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, said that the visit came after a phone call in January from a special agent that he assumed was a scam.

" 'I was skeptical the phone call was really from the FBI, but after I declined to speak with the agent, she said that she was standing outside my door,' he said. She was actually at the activist’s former address, which he said made him additionally dubious. But last week, when the agents showed up at his current address, he said he saw the agent’s business card through his door."

Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/fbi-counterterror-extinction-rebellion/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4Nq3X

#USPol #ExtinctionRebellion #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EPAFail #Polluters #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy #EnvironmentalActivists #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ResistFascism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #BigBrother #NineteenEightyFour #SilencingDissent #SilencingFreeSpeech #CorporationsAreTheRealTerrorists

🚨 We all knew this would be coming... Don't like polluters? TOUGH SHIT! You're under arrest!!!

#FBI #Counterterrorism Agents Spent Weeks Seeking a #ClimateActivist — Then Showed Up at His Door

The visit suggests a possible FBI probe into #ExtinctionRebellionNYC as the Trump administration increases surveillance of #activist groups.

Jacqueline Sweet, February 12 2026

Excerpt: "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, at least one of whom works on counterterrorism, went to the home of a former member of a #ClimateActivism group for questioning last week, potentially signaling a new escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to criminalize #nonprofits and #ActivistGroups as #DomesticTerrorists.

"Two FBI agents, one from New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, told a former member of Extinction Rebellion NYC they wanted to ask him about the group at his home upstate on Friday, an attorney for the group told The Intercept. The visit followed a prior attempt to reach him at his old address.

"The FBI’s apparent probe of Extinction Rebellion NYC comes as the Justice Department ramps up its surveillance of activists protesting immigration enforcement and the Trump administration creates secret lists of domestic enemies under Trump’s National Security Presidential #Memorandum7, or #NSPM7.

" 'I believe this to be a significant escalation of the criminal legal system against #XR and find it very troubling,' said Ron Kuby, the Extinction Rebellion attorney. 'This is usually the way we find out an actual investigation is underway and is often followed by other visits and other actions.'

"The former Extinction Rebellion member, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, said that the visit came after a phone call in January from a special agent that he assumed was a scam.

" 'I was skeptical the phone call was really from the FBI, but after I declined to speak with the agent, she said that she was standing outside my door,' he said. She was actually at the activist’s former address, which he said made him additionally dubious. But last week, when the agents showed up at his current address, he said he saw the agent’s business card through his door."

Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/fbi-counterterror-extinction-rebellion/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4Nq3X

#USPol #ExtinctionRebellion #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EPAFail #Polluters #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy #EnvironmentalActivists #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ResistFascism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #BigBrother #NineteenEightyFour #SilencingDissent #SilencingFreeSpeech #CorporationsAreTheRealTerrorists

🚨 We all knew this would be coming... Don't like polluters? TOUGH SHIT! You're under arrest!!!

#FBI #Counterterrorism Agents Spent Weeks Seeking a #ClimateActivist — Then Showed Up at His Door

The visit suggests a possible FBI probe into #ExtinctionRebellionNYC as the Trump administration increases surveillance of #activist groups.

Jacqueline Sweet, February 12 2026

Excerpt: "Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, at least one of whom works on counterterrorism, went to the home of a former member of a #ClimateActivism group for questioning last week, potentially signaling a new escalation in the Trump administration’s promise to criminalize #nonprofits and #ActivistGroups as #DomesticTerrorists.

"Two FBI agents, one from New York’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, told a former member of Extinction Rebellion NYC they wanted to ask him about the group at his home upstate on Friday, an attorney for the group told The Intercept. The visit followed a prior attempt to reach him at his old address.

"The FBI’s apparent probe of Extinction Rebellion NYC comes as the Justice Department ramps up its surveillance of activists protesting immigration enforcement and the Trump administration creates secret lists of domestic enemies under Trump’s National Security Presidential #Memorandum7, or #NSPM7.

" 'I believe this to be a significant escalation of the criminal legal system against #XR and find it very troubling,' said Ron Kuby, the Extinction Rebellion attorney. 'This is usually the way we find out an actual investigation is underway and is often followed by other visits and other actions.'

"The former Extinction Rebellion member, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety, said that the visit came after a phone call in January from a special agent that he assumed was a scam.

" 'I was skeptical the phone call was really from the FBI, but after I declined to speak with the agent, she said that she was standing outside my door,' he said. She was actually at the activist’s former address, which he said made him additionally dubious. But last week, when the agents showed up at his current address, he said he saw the agent’s business card through his door."

Read more:
https://theintercept.com/2026/02/12/fbi-counterterror-extinction-rebellion/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/4Nq3X

#USPol #ExtinctionRebellion #CriminalizingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EPAFail #Polluters #Corporatocracy #CorporateColonialism #Oligarchy #EnvironmentalActivists #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ResistFascism #Authoritarianism #Fascism #Orwellian #ThoughtCrime #BigBrother #NineteenEightyFour #SilencingDissent #SilencingFreeSpeech #CorporationsAreTheRealTerrorists

Returning land to tribes is a step towards justice and #sustainability, say #Wabanaki, #EnvironmentalActivists

by Emily Weyrauch, December 1, 2020

"Last month, the Elliotsville Foundation gave back 735 acres to the #PenobscotNation, a parcel of land that connects two Penobscot-held land plots. While this return of land is a significant milestone in terms of the work of conservation groups in Maine, it also reflects a larger shift in thinking about land ownership, from property and caretaking toward #IndigenousStewardship.

"Before European settlers arrived, the land in Maine was stewarded by the Wabanaki people—a confederacy of five nations including Penobscot, #Passamaquoddy, #Maliseet, #Mikmaq and #Abenaki.

"Early treaties between Indigenous tribes and settlers were signed, but not upheld. Early Maine court cases set the precedent for #LandTheft. The state legally prohibited treaty obligations from being published in its constitution. Ever since the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, the state government has significantly limited tribes’ sovereignty and access to ancestral lands. Now, the Maine legislature is preparing to take up a bill that would make 22 law changes to the 1980 act to promote Wabanaki sovereignty and correct the impacts of the 40-year-old piece of legislation that placed Wabanaki people in a separate category from other federally-recognized tribes.

"Currently, a vast majority—90 percent—of land in Maine is privately owned, unlike in states like Nevada, Utah and Idaho, where the vast majority of land is owned by the U.S. government. Less than one percent of Maine land is owned by #Wabanaki people.

"To many Indigenous people, the legacy of white-led conservation groups in Maine and nationwide represents a failure of true environmental stewardship.

"'Across the country, land conservation groups and land trusts participated in depopulating, cutting off Indigenous access to certain lands and resources,' said Dr. Darren Ranco, associate professor of Anthropology and coordinator of Native American Research at the University of Maine.

"Dr. Ranco said that the history of environmental protection in the U.S. starts in the 19th century and focuses on two movements: conservation and preservation.

" 'On the one hand, you have people saying, ‘You want to use the public lands wisely’ — and that often led to extreme forms of exploitation through oil and gas contracts. The other side of it was, ‘Let’s just keep it wild and preserve it as-is, as a wild space,' " said Dr. Ranco, who is a member of the Penobscot Nation. 'Ironically, both of those approaches in the 19th century sought to displace Indigenous people.'

" 'A lot of the [conservation] practices in the past actually marginalized native people, and didn’t allow for their voice to be heard, and discouraged their voices,' said Suzanne Greenlaw, a #Maliseet forestry scientist and PhD student at the University of Maine.

" 'The native approach is very much in the center—we do harvest, but we harvest in a sustainable way that actually forms a relationship with the resource,” said Greenlaw, who conducts research on the sustainable harvesting of sweetgrass by Indigenous people.

"In fact, the way that Indigenous people understand land is markedly different from western ideas of ownership.

" 'The idea of private property puts us in this framing where the land, the water, and the air, and the animals, and everything else—all our relations—are meant to serve us, they are things below us, things to dominate and control and take ownership over,' said Lokotah Sanborn, a Penobscot activist.

" 'For us, it would be absurd to say ‘I own my grandmother,’ or ‘I own my cousin,’ or ‘I own my brother.’ You don’t talk about things like that. And so when we’re talking about land ownership, it’s that same idea —these are our relations, these are things that hold a lot of significance to us,' said Sanborn.

"While the planet’s Indigenous people make up less than five percent of the global population, they manage 25 percent of its land and support 80 percent of global biodiversity, research shows.

" 'We’ve been led down this path toward climate catastrophe and the extinction of millions of species, all to drive #ExtractiveIndustries,' said Sanborn. 'If we wish to reverse these things, we need to give land back into the hands of Indigenous peoples and to respect our ability to protect those lands,' said Sanborn.

"This growing recognition of Wabanaki #stewardship is part of the mission of First Light, a group that serves to connect Wabanaki people with conservation organizations who seek to expand Wabanaki access to land. Currently, 50 organizations are participating, including #MaineAudubon and #TheNatureConservancy.

"Lucas St. Clair, president of the Elliotsville Foundation, participated in First Light’s year-long educational program before fulfilling a request by #JohnBanks, Natural Resources Director for the Penobscot Nation, to return the 735-acre property to the Penobscot Nation. This comes four years after the foundation gave 87,500 acres of land to the federal government for the establishment of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. St. Clair said the foundation currently holds 35,000 acres of land.

" 'In the grand scheme of things, this is not a lot of land,' said St. Clair, about the foundation’s recent transfer of 735 acres. 'It was more about justice, relationship-building and awareness.'

" 'You see this move toward Indigenous knowledge and practices of management and conservation that have existed for hundreds of years, and this possibility with land conservation groups and Wabanaki people having a more central role in understanding and managing the lands is coming to the fore,' said Dr. Ranco.

"And while organizations undergo the learning and transformational processes that precede giving back land, and as the legislature and courts are taking up questions of Wabanaki sovereignty and stewardship, people are working on the ground everyday to re-imagine relationships with land.

"Alivia Moore, a Penobscot community organizer with the #EasternWoodlands #Rematriation collective, said that a crucial part of the work of expanding Indigenous access to land in Maine is recognizing and restoring the history of matriarchal Indigenous societies.

" 'To restore land to Indigenous #matriarchies is to make sure that everybody has what they need on and from the earth. There’s enough for everyone,' said Moore

"With #EasternWoodlandsRematriation, Indigenous people are growing their connections to #RegenerativeFoodSystems. Whereas cultural use agreements are more formal ways Indigenous people can access resources from the private land of people and organizations, Moore said other relationships can form and strengthen even informally.

"Years ago, a white farmer offered land to Indigenous women to use for farming to restore their connection to the land. That has been an ongoing relationship that became one of mutual exchange of information and resources, shared learning and shared meals, said Moore.

"The movement to give land back to Indigenous stewardship is not confined to a single organization, legal battle, or project. For Indigenous people—and a growing number of environmental organizations—it is a step toward justice and a sustainable future.

"'Land back is not just about righting past wrongs. The point of land back is that it’s the future, if we wish to adequately address and avoid further global devastation from climate change,' said Sanborn."

https://mainebeacon.com/returning-land-to-tribes-is-a-step-towards-justice-and-sustainability-say-wabanaki-environmental-activists/

#LandBack #WabanakiConfederacy #Wabanakik #WabanakiAlliance #MaineFirstNations #Maine #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge #IndigenousPeoplesDay

#SilencingDissent: The #Crackdown on #PeacefulProtest in #Europe

In our recently published Rule of Law report, Liberties’ members reported an increase in restrictions on the right to peaceful protest in all countries.

by Flore du Teilleul
April 10, 2025

Excerpt:
"The right to peaceful protest is essential to our democracies, allowing people to come together with a unified voice to support or oppose key issues. It serves as a powerful mechanism for individuals to hold their governments to account and is often the last resort when prior messages go unheard. However, politicians often perceive this right as a threat, especially when force of numbers demonstrates support for an issue.

"In our recently published Rule of Law report, Liberties’ members reported an increase in restrictions on the right to peaceful protest in all countries - from bans on individual protests to the disproportionate use of force by the police and legislative changes. A widespread trend emerged of restricted #ProPalestine protests and #EnvironmentalDefenders receiving particularly harsh penalties.

Bans on Protests

"Restrictions on various protest movements justified on public safety grounds were documented in many member states. In #Germany, the Berlin Assembly Authorities implemented a temporary blanket ban targeting pro-Palestine demonstrations. Initially, the ban targeted celebrations of the mass murder and pro-Hamas demonstrations but later extended to all pro-Palestinian protests. Similarly, in #Latvia, an unregistered #FreePalestine movement protest was banned after an assessment by the state security service that the event would, among other risks, harm the country’s international interests.

"The Estonian police banned a protest in support of #Palestinians, which was later declared unlawful by the administrative court. In #Hungary, Prime Minister #ViktorOrbán publicly prejudiced support for Palestinians by linking it with terrorism, equating solidarity with civilians victims to threats to the public order. As the fifteen attempts to organise protests were successively banned, the government and the Prime Minister re-asserted their power by deciding what can be demonstrated for, namely, topics in line with their political interests. Following the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the Hungarian government has repeatedly declared and extended the state of danger, allowing for the adoption of emergency decrees restricting, among other rights, the freedom to assemble. Both the Hungarian Supreme Court and Constitutional Court upheld the protest bans on the basis of public safety and security, legalising the practice of police-authorised restrictions in times of conflict.

"Further restrictions, including bans on #slogans and #signs during #demonstrations, sought to criminalise protesters. Several individuals were arrested or fined for displaying signs or slogans related to Palestine. In #Belgium, activists faced administrative sanctions for carrying a #PalestinianFlag or the #keffiyeh. Similarly, in the #Netherlands, attendees of an #ExtinctionRebellion demonstration were prohibited from mentioning the conflict in the Middle East. The enforcement of restrictions went as far as arrests, as Croatian activists were charged with misdemeanor after projecting a message in support of Palestine on a building across from the Israeli Embassy in Zagreb.

"In Hungary, a demonstrator faced criminal charges after wearing a gas mask and removing it after being asked by the police. In a worrying trend of criminalising protest activities, several activists were arrested and charged with sedition before an Extinction Rebellion demonstration in the Netherlands.

Disproportionate use of force by the police

"The criminalisation of environmental and pro-Palestine protesters was worsened by the violent repression of the police through excessive use of force. This was particularly notable in Sweden, where student encampments in support of Palestinians were forcibly displaced and participants were charged with criminal offenses. #PainGrips, water guns and #WaterCannons were used against environmental activists, pro-Palestinian and anti-immigration demonstrators in Germany, the #Netherlands and #Ireland.

"Environmental activists faced similar fates, The NGO ‘#FranceNatureEnvironnement’ reported concerns to the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders following the violent repression of protesters during a demonstration against the A69 highway. In #Sweden, a woman was dismissed from her job at the Swedish Energy Agency for participating in an environmental demonstration and a growing number of #EcoActivists were fined for participating in peaceful protests."

Read more:
https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/rule-of-law-2025-protests/45384

#RightToProtest #SilencingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EuropeanLaws #Croatia #ACAB #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #FreePalestine #FreeGaza #EnvironmentalProtests #EnvironmentalActivists

And how much economic damage is from climate change and pollution from #FossilFuels? #BigOil is the real criminal here!

#ClimateProtesters are taking action against Big Oil. UK courts are handing them prison terms akin to rapists and thieves

By Kara Fox, CNN
September 14, 2024

London CNN — "As #RightWing rioters attacked communities with #racist violence across parts of the UK last month, 22-year-old #ClimateActivist #CressieGethin sat in a prison cell.

"Her crime? Organizing a disruptive protest against new government-granted licenses to drill for oil — a planet-heating #FossilFuel — in the #NorthSea.

"In late July, a London court found #Gethin and four other members of the #JustStopOil activist group guilty of 'conspiring intentionally to cause a #PublicNuisance,' after recruiting protesters to climb structures along the M25 — a major ring road around London — bringing traffic to a standstill in parts over four days in November 2022.

"Prosecutors alleged that the protests, organized over a #ZoomCall, disrupted more than 700,000 drivers, caused economic damage of over £760,000 ($980,000) and racked up £1 million ($1.3m) in policing costs.

"Now Gethin and three others — Louise Lancaster, #DanielShaw and #LuciaWhittakerDeAbreu, who planned the disruption on the call — are serving four-year jail terms, while Just Stop Oil co-founder #RogerHallam was given five years. All are appealing.

"The sentences are believed to be the longest in the UK’s history for #nonviolent protest and were delivered under two new controversial laws that supercharged #policing powers to crack down on disruptive protests, even when they are peaceful.

"They place the act of planning a 'public nuisance' event, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, on a similar footing as #ViolentCrimes like robbery, for which punishments range from community service to 12 years’ jail, or rape, which is four to 19 years.

"The judge — who in court referred to the activists as '#extremists' — justified the long jail terms because all five activists had previously been convicted of one or more offenses in relation to direct action protest. Each were on bail for another set of proceedings when the Zoom call took place. He also noted people missed important doctor’s visits and funerals because of the protest.

"But activists like Gethin say their demonstrations are proportionate to the problem at hand — a rapidly warming world that threatens to transform life as we know it, through deadly #ExtremeWeather events and by pushing #ecosystems to their brinks. They are now battling the bolstered powers of the #police and courts to get their point across.

“'A very harsh sentence like this doesn’t make sense morally or legally — but it does make sense politically,' Gethin told CNN in a handwritten letter from HMP Bronzefield, a women’s prison just south of London’s Heathrow Airport.

"The laws have drawn criticism from the UN’s special rapporteur on #EnvironmentalDefenders, #MichaelForst, who said not only do they criminalize peaceful protest, but they are being enforced in 'punitive and repressive' ways."

Read more:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/14/climate/uk-climate-protests-policing-laws-prison-intl/index.html

#BigOilAndGas #ClimateActivists #ClimateProtest #SLAPPs #CorporateColonialism #WaterDefenders
#ClimateDefenders
#EnvironmentalActivists
#SilencingDissent #SLAPPs #ClimateActivists #CorporateColonialism
#EarthDefenders #CriminalizingDissent #FreeSpeech #RightToProtest #BiodiversityNecessityDefense
#EarthDefenders
#SLAPPs #Fascism #CivilDisobedience
#Activism #ClimateStrike
#HumanRights #Article20 #2023PublicOrderAct #ClimateNecessityDefense #Corporatocracy #CorporateFascism #ClimateCrisis #ClimateCatastrophe

Inside the last-ditch effort to stop the #MountainValleyPipeline

The project is over budget and behind schedule, with a lot of hard work left to do. Its opponents hope that makes #FossilFuel companies think twice about building the next one.

By Katie Myers
Published Jan 16, 2024

"As day broke over the small mountain town of #EllistonVirginia, one Monday in October, masked figures in thick coats emerged from the woods surrounding a construction site. Three of them approached three excavators and, one by one, locked themselves to the machines, bringing the day’s work to a halt. As they did so, several dozen of their fellow protesters gathered around them, unfurling banners and chanting amid the groaning and beeping of construction equipment.

"They made their way across the field, over patches of bare earth, around sections of rusty pipe meant for burial beneath the mountain. Eventually the metal tubes will form yet another section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will soon carry 2 billion cubic feet of #fracked #methane from the #ShaleFields of #WestVirginia to #NorthCarolina each day. Their breath billowed in the crisp air. Beyond them stretched a bright blue sky, and mountains tinged with yellow. The past night’s rain pooled on the muddy and compacted soil beneath their feet.

"Workers in highlighter-yellow vests and hard hats milled around, some looking amused, others frustrated. One or two engaged with the #protesters, only to be told off by an irate site manager. A few miles away at the West Virginia state line, another three dozen or so activists did much the same atop #PetersMountain. One even managed to crawl under an excavator and lock herself in place, despite the cold. The others rallied around, enclosing her in a tight, protective circle.

Some might wonder why they bothered. After all, the project is, by the Mountain Valley Pipeline company’s estimate, 94 percent complete and will be wrapped up before summer. It stalled for several years amid legal fights over various permits, but Senator #JoeManchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, almost single-handedly revived it in 2022 in exchange for his support of key Democratic priorities. Since then, the Biden administration and the Supreme Court have all but assured its completion. With the approximately 303-mile pipeline approaching the final stretch after almost a decade’s work, it might seem hardly worth fighting at this point.

"A large contingent of steadfast opposition begs to differ — and will enthusiastically explain why. The pipeline is six years behind schedule, about half a billion dollars over budget, and, despite promises that it would be done by the end of last year, delayed once again. The remaining construction is over rugged terrain, with hundreds of water crossings left to bridge. The company recently postponed, shortened, and rerouted its planned extension into North Carolina, a proposal long stymied by permitting problems with the main line. And, just last month, #Equitrans, which owns the #pipeline and many others across the country, was said to be considering selling itself. The road to the pipeline’s completion remains rocky, its opponents argue, with many opportunities to make finishing it as difficult as possible.

"'We cannot let them destroy our land and water,' said a young woman named Ericka. Like many interviewed for this story, she gave only her first name out of fear of reprisal from #MountainValleyPipelineLLC, which has begun suing #protesters in a bid to silence them. She had brought her three children to occupy the land that day. 'What are we going to drink? Where are we going to live? People have to come here and stop this.'"

https://grist.org/protest/inside-the-last-ditch-effort-to-stop-the-mountain-valley-pipeline/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

#SilencingDissent #DirectAction #ClimateCatastrophe #NoFracking #WaterIsLife #SLAPPs #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship
#HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #BigOilAndGas

ICYMI, from 2016: #StandingRock Medics Attacked by Police and Arrested

by Brenda Norrell, #CensoredNews
October 27, 2016

CANNON BALL, North Dakota -- "One of the Standing Rock medics described how police targeted medics, and violently arrested medics, while they were treating people during the violent police attack on Standing Rock water protectors on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016 at Treaty Camp, directly on the path of Dakota Access Pipeline.

"The medic could see silencers on police weapons.

"'If they are here for peace, then why do their weapons have silencers on them?'

"As the medics struggled to treat those who were victims of the police attack, they became victims and were violently arrested.

"'The vehicle we were in had red crosses on it. They knew we were medics.They sprayed me head to toe. They pointed shotguns at my back while I was treating patients."

Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2016/10/standing-rock-medics-shot-by-police-and.html

#StandWithStandingRock #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #BigOilAndGas #ACAB

Demonstrators Decry #SLAPP Lawsuits Targeting Movement Against #MountainValleyPipeline

via @igd December 21, 2023

"Report on recent protest in Abingdon, Virginia against SLAPP lawsuits targeting the movement fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).

"Mountain Valley Pipeline is suing dozens of pipeline opponents in multiple jurisdictions for millions of dollars as part of a campaign of ongoing repression. Penn Stuart, the law firm behind the injunctions currently being levied against pipeline fighters in Virginia, and their Lawyer Wade Massie are hired by EQT Midstream, the largest partner in the MVP. Today, people had an office party at the Penn Stuart offices in Abingdon, VA, causing a ruckus."

Read more:
https://itsgoingdown.org/demonstrators-decry-slapp-lawsuits-mvp/

#SLAPPs #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #BigOilAndGas

Don’t Stop: Continuing the Fight against #CopCity

Six More Months in the Movement to Defend the Forest
2023-12-12 via #CrimeThinc

"Escalating Repression: #RICO and the Furtherance of the Conspiracy

"With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that the 'tactics of organized criminals' language Governor Kemp used on July 2 was not just boilerplate copy drafted by an intern, nor was the August 2 press conference simply propaganda to assure backers that the state could still protect their investments. These phrases and statements were shaping operations, carefully crafted interventions designed to position the government for their next operation: the blanket criminalization of the entire movement.

"On August 29, the Attorney General of #Georgia, Christopher M. Carr, filed an indictment with the Fulton County Superior Court, bringing charges against 61 people under Georgia’s version of the Rackeeter-Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act O.C.G.A. § 16-14-4. The indictment became public on September 5. The document, which is over 100 pages long and very poorly written, claims that the 'conspiracy' (which it names 'Defend the Atlanta Forest') was 'founded' on May 25, 2020—the day that #MinneapolisPolice officers murdered #GeorgeFloyd, precipitating a nationwide #uprising.

"This was a serious escalation. It did not catch everyone by surprise: the #AtlantaSolidarityFund has been braced for such charges since February. The authorities and their extreme-right proxies had been demanding a full-scale crackdown on the movement for over a year, spreading a conspiracy theory that the movement was a mafia controlled by a shadowy and well-connected group (a narrative some activists also reproduced, apparently with no sense of irony). According to one version of this conspiracy theory, circulated by far-right trolls, the Network for Stronger Communities (a Georgia-based nonprofit organization) operates a number of financial enterprises, including the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, that coordinate acts of terrorism in order to accumulate wealth and influence. Of the 61 accused, three were members of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund. The 42 people already facing #DomesticTerrorism charges were also indicted, as well as a number of other people whose connection to the movement was unclear. The indictment alleged that some people had committed acts in 'overt furtherance of the conspiracy' such as buying #GlueSticks for #SignMaking. [UK is using similar tactics, arresting people for just having #Superglue or #BikeLocks in their possession.]

"The RICO indictment was not a legal procedure but a political act. It was not a judicial intervention to suppress criminal activity but a government measure to crush what the text describes as '#anarchism,' '#collectivism,' '#SocialSolidarity,' '#MutualAid.”

"It is not simply 61 people who are on trial. By dating the case to the murder of George Floyd, the prosecution showed that their real target was the entire population of millions that participated in the consequent revolt. This is not an unusual court case, but a new chapter in the fight between those who seek to preserve the hierarchies of a structurally white supremacist society and those fighting to destroy it root and branch. The indictment does not present a list of crimes. It describes the contours and values of a rival society emerging within the movement to stop Cop City, aspiring to reinvent the world according to a different logic.

"The Fulton County Judge assigned to the RICO case immediately recused himself. Until then, judges had not recused themselves from cases related to the movement even when they possessed obvious ties to the Atlanta Police Foundation."

Full article:
https://crimethinc.com/2023/12/12/dont-stop-continuing-the-fight-against-cop-city-six-more-months-in-the-movement-to-defend-the-forest

#JusticeForTort #StopCopCity #ACAB #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SLAPPs

And in southern #Maine, retirees are making their voices heard!

#ElderActivists join forces to combat #ClimateChange

#ThirdActMaine, made up of retirees, is making itself seen and heard in its effort to get companies to divest in #FossilFuel companies.

Posted December 12, 2023
Mikayla Patel, The Forecaster

“'We don’t know how our actions will affect things, but it’s important to be out there and forming community around this issue,' [retiree Bill Rixon] said. 'Being out there on the sidewalk, I’ve found, is really good for my soul.'

"Part of the idea behind the group, he said, is that #retirees are in a better position to put themselves at risk of #arrest.

"'We don’t have to worry about our employment record being sullied by being arrested,' Rixon said, though the group has no intention or expectation of being arrested.

"'The goal is to hopefully urge #corporations to do the right thing,' he said."

Read more:
https://www.pressherald.com/2023/12/12/elder-activists-join-forces-to-combat-climate-change/

#EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #BigOilAndGas #Divest

#Activist, 97, among dozens arrested in #Australia #climate protest

26 November 2023

Sydney, Australia, Nov 26 (EFE).- "Dozens of protesters, including a 97-year-old man, were arrested on Sunday during a #ClimateChange protest off Australia’s east coast that disrupted operations at the country’s biggest coal export port.

"#ClimateActivist group #RisingTide had organized the protest to block the traffic of coal cargo ships in the port of Newcastle since Saturday.

"The group said on its Twitter account that at least 59 people have been arrested so far.

"Since Saturday, groups of 50 to 60 protesters have been taking turns in rostered two-hour shifts getting on canoes and inflatable boats and preventing ships from leaving the port.

"Among the protesters who went out to sea was Alan Stuart, a 97-year-old religious pastor.

"Stuart said he was doing it for his grandchildren and future generations after being pulled out of his boat by the police.

"'I am doing this for my grandchildren and future generations because I don’t want to leave them a world full of increasingly severe and frequent #ClimateDisasters,' he said. 'I am so sorry that they will have to suffer the consequences of our inaction. So, I think it is my duty to do what I can and to stand up for what I know is right.'

"Rising Tide claims that the protest prevented more than half a million tonnes of coal from leaving the Newcastle port by the time the demonstration ended.

"Protesters demand that the Australian government stop all new projects that involve the use of fossil energy and confront the #ClimateCrisis more decisively.

"The climate crisis is one of the big issues of political debate in Australia, a country exposed to the effects of #droughts and #ExtremeTemperatures.

"Australia is the world’s second largest exporter of thermal coal and the largest exporter of cooking coal."

https://efe.com/en/other-news/2023-11-26/activist-97-among-dozens-arrested-in-australia-climate-protest/

#DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #BigOilAndGas #BigCoal

Not everyone is prepared to do #DirectAction and risk arrest. However, that doesn't mean you can't get involved. Some good tips here for anyone who is new to #activism, or who wants to learn more...

"Here in the United States, a common place to start researching #environmentalism is in the works of #AldoLeopold, #RachelCarson, and #EdwardAbbey. Although the work of these authors is undeniably crucial to understanding the landscape of modern environmentalist thought, it’s only a skim of the surface of the centuries of work done by #Indigenous leaders to protect and conserve #Earth and the natural resources we can’t live without –– the water we drink, the air we breathe."

The Introvert’s Guide to Environmental Activism

by Deanna Pratt | Mar 7, 2020

"Putting yourself out there and standing up for something you believe in can be really intimidating. Especially if you’re an introvert.

"Inside of most environmental activists and organizers –– including myself –– there’s an intense battle raging on between our passion for environmental justice and our fear of being seen and heard. It takes an immense amount of vulnerability to put your most intimate beliefs and worldviews out in the open for the world to see.

"Despite that, we still choose to post on social media, attend rallies, and organize community meet-ups and events because we know it’s what we have to do in the face of the climate crisis.

"If you’re someone who wants to get involved in environmental activism but, you’re not sure how to comfortably start, this guide is for you.

"Here are three steps you can take to progressively ease into environmental activism and community outreach."

Read more:
https://ecoally.co/environmental-activism-guide/

#EcoAlly #EcoActivists #FridaysForFuture #ClimateStrike #ActNow #EnvironmentalActivists #IntrovertedActivists #DefendTheDefenders #ActivismIsNotACrime #ClimateJusticeNow #ProtestIsNotACrime

Did #AvocadoCartels Kill the Butterfly King?

#HomeroGómezGonzález put himself between a threatened species and #Mexico’s #avocado and #timber industries. Then he disappeared.

by Matthew Bremner
July 23, 2021

"Gómez’s fight to preserve the forests had been tough, he’d told the international press. He said his work had been endangered by criminals, including illegal loggers and the cartel-infiltrated avocado trade. 'Gómez was probably hurting the interests of people illegally logging in the area,' Mayte Cardona, a spokeswoman for the State #HumanRights Commission of #Michoacán, told journalists shortly after his disappearance."

Original article:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-07-23/did-the-avocado-cartel-kill-mexico-butterfly-king-homero-gomez-gonzalez

Internet Archive version:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210731125329/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-07-23/did-the-avocado-cartel-kill-mexico-butterfly-king-homero-gomez-gonzalez

#ForestDefenders #JusticeForHomero #CriminalizingDissent #DefendTheForest #IndigenousRights #MonarchButterflies #Extinction #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice
#SilencingDissent
#CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists

More than 300 #HumanRights activists were killed in 2019, report reveals

#Colombia was the bloodiest nation with 103 murders and the #Philippines was second, followed by #Brazil, #Honduras and #Mexico

by Nina Lakhani, 14 Jan, 2020

"More than 300 human rights defenders working to protect the #environment, #FreeSpeech, #LGBTQ+ rights and #IndigenousLand in 31 countries were killed in 2019, a new report reveals.

"Two-thirds of the total killings took place in #LatinAmerica where impunity from prosecution is the norm.

"Colombia, where targeted violence against community leaders opposing environmentally destructive #megaprojects has spiraled since the 2016 peace accords, was the bloodiest nation with 106 murders in 2019. The Philippines was the second deadliest country with 43 killings, followed by Honduras, Brazil and Mexico.

"2019 was characterized by waves of social uprisings demanding political and economic changes across the globe from Iraq and Lebanon in the Middle East to Hong Kong and India in Asia and Chile in the Americas.

"The report by #FrontLineDefenders (#FLD) details the physical assaults, defamation campaigns, digital security threats, judicial harassment, and gender-based attacks faced by human rights defenders across the world, who were on the frontline of protests against deep seated #inequalities, #corruption and #authoritarianism.

"In the cases for which the data is available, the report found:
• 85% of those killed last year had previously been threatened either individually or as part of the community or group in which they worked.

• 13% of those reported killed were women.

• 40% of those killed worked on land, #IndigenousPeoples and environmental issues.


"In nearly all countries that experienced mass protests last year, human rights defenders – who mobilized #marches, documented police and military abuses, and helped citizens who were injured or arrested – were specifically targeted.

"For instance, in #Chile, in the biggest anti-government protests since the end of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, at least 23 people were killed and 2,300 injured, with scores blinded by non-lethal projectiles.

"In #Iraq, where #Anticorruption protests during October and November left more than 300 people dead, Saba Al Mahdawi was abducted and held for nearly two weeks by unidentified militants. She was most likely targeted as a result of her work providing food, water and medical aid to injured protesters.

"#Honduras, a key geopolitical US ally, has been one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a woman, lawyer, journalist and land or environmental defender since the 2009 military-backed coup unleashed a wave of unchecked violence. Last year, targeted killings in the Central American country increased fourfold compared to 2018, as tens of thousands of people fled a toxic mix of violence, poverty and corruption, and journeyed overland through Mexico to the US southern border in search of security.
Yet despite difficult and frightening circumstances, human rights activists have continued to spearhead positive social changes.

"For instance, #Mexican #reproductiverights defenders celebrated the legalisation of abortion in the state of Oaxaca – following in the footsteps of Mexico City 12 years earlier. While in Jordan, lawmakers withdrew the cybercrime bill, which proposed restrictions to the freedom of speech and the right to privacy, after a high-profile campaign by civil society groups.

"Andrew Anderson, executive director of FLD, said: 'In 2019, we saw human rights defenders on the frontlines defending and advancing rights in Hong Kong, Chile, Iraq, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Spain and many other cities and towns around the world. And despite repression, they continue to advance visions of their societies and the world that put to shame not only their own governments and leaders, but also the international community.'"

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/jan/14/300-human-rights-activists-killed-2019-report

#DigitalFreeSpeech #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest

Mexico: defender of monarch butterflies found dead two weeks after he vanished

- Homero Gómez González was found floating in a well
- Activists say death could be over illegal logging disputes

by David Agren
Thu 30 Jan 2020

A #Mexican #environmental #activist who fought to protect the wintering grounds of the monarch #butterfly has been found dead in the western state of Michoacán, two weeks after he disappeared.

“#HomeroGómezGonzález, a former logger who managed #ElRosarioButterflyReserve, vanished on 13 January. His body was found floating in a well on Wednesday, reportedly showing signs of torture.

“The motive for his murder remains unknown, but some activists speculated that it could have been related to disputes over illegal #logging.

“Last week, authorities called in 53 police officers from the surrounding municipalities for questioning.

“Gómez González’s death comes as the murder rate continues to surge in a country where environmental defenders, human rights workers and community activists are routinely targeted for their work.

“President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has promised to halt attacks on environmental defenders, but the killings continue.

“‘This is a very regrettable act, very painful,' López Obrador said at his morning press conference on Thursday. 'It’s part of what makes us apply ourselves more to guarantee peace and tranquility in the country.'

“According to Global Witness 14 defenders were murdered in Mexico in 2018.

“Gómez González grew up in #ElRosario, a hamlet in the hills of western Michoacán, where monarch butterflies winter amid dense forests of fir and pine trees.

“Millions of the butterflies make a 2,000-mile (3,220km) journey each year from Canada to pass the winter in central Mexico’s warmer weather. But the forests and the monarchs are threatened by climate change and the incursion of illegal loggers and #AvocadoFarmers.

“A gentle man with a salt-and-pepper hair and thick mustache, Gómez González was born into a logging family according to a profile in the Washington Post.
“‘We were afraid that if we had to stop logging, it would send us all into poverty,' he told the newspaper.

“But he eventually convinced others to abandon logging and protect butterfly habitats instead, figuring tourism would replace the lost income. The sanctuary is now a #UnescoWorldHeritageSite and federal law outlaws logging in the site.

“#GómezGonzález often posted mesmerising videos of fluttering monarchs to social media.

“In one of his last videos, shared on Twitter a day before his disappearance, Homero Gómez González stood amid a cloud of butterflies. 'Come and and see this marvel of nature! [The #butterflies] are lovers of the sun, the souls of the dead,' he said, referring to #IndigenousLegends about the migratory butterflies.

“Speaking to the AP, #HomeroAridjis, an environmentalist and poet who is a longtime defender of the butterfly reserve, said: 'If they can kidnap and kill the people who work for the reserves, who is going to defend the environment in Mexico?’”

Source:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/30/mexico-activist-monarch-butterflies-dead-homero-gomez-gonzalez

#ForestDefenders #JusticeForHomero
#CriminalizingDissent #DefendTheForest #IndigenousRights #MonarchButterflies #Extinction #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice
#SilencingDissent
#CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #ACAB

#Activists Who Sacrificed Their Lives To Save The #AmazonRainforest

by Jana Gregorio
July 31 2020

"According to reports, on average, one activist has been killed in #Brazil every week since 2002. Most of the killings happened in remote areas of the Amazon.

"#ChicoMendes was a labor leader and activist who fought against the #deforestation of the #AmazonRainforest. In 1988, Mendes was shot and killed in front of his house by a cattle rancher named Darcy Alves.

"#NazildoDosSantosBrito was an anti-#PalmOil campaigner. In 2018, Brito was shot and killed, but none of his possessions were missing. Rights groups say he was killed due to his activism in the Amazon.

"Maxciel Pereira dos Santos was a defender of Brazil’s Indigenous people. In 2019, he was killed execution-style in front of his family members.

"For decades, the Amazon Rainforest has been the target of #CattleRanchers, #farmers, #loggers, and #miners who seek to take the forest’s land and natural resources. Over the past 50 years, about 17% of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed."

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/10-people-who-died-to-save-the-amazon.html

#DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #ExtractiveMining #IndigenistasAssociados #EnvironmentalRacism #IndigenousPeople #IndigenousActivists #EarthDefenders #SouthAmerica #LatinAmerica

The right to #protest is under threat in #Britain, undermining a pillar of democracy

By JILL LAWLESS
December 26, 2023

LONDON (AP) — "For holding a sign outside a courthouse reminding jurors of their right to acquit defendants, a retiree faces up to two years in prison. For hanging a banner reading '#JustStopOil' off a bridge, an engineer got a three-year prison sentence. Just for walking slowly down the street, scores of people have been arrested.

"They are among hundreds of #environmental activists arrested for peaceful demonstrations in the U.K., where tough new laws restrict the right to protest.

"The Conservative government says the laws prevent extremist activists from hurting the economy and disrupting daily life. Critics say #CivilRights are being eroded without enough scrutiny from lawmakers or protection by the courts. They say the sweeping arrests of peaceful #demonstrators, along with government officials labeling #EnvironmentalActivists #extremists, mark a worrying departure for a liberal democracy.

"'Legitimate protest is part of what makes any country a safe and civilized place to live',' said Jonathon Porritt, an #ecologist and former director of #FriendsOfTheEarth, who joined a vigil outside London’s Central Criminal Court to protest the treatment of demonstrators.

"'The government has made its intent very clear, which is basically to suppress what is legitimate, lawful protest and to use every conceivable mechanism at their disposal to do that.'"

Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/britain-democracy-protest-arrests-unwritten-constitution-616078b918e27d5098890be6f9967b14

#DigitalFreeSpeech #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterIsLife #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #SLAPPs #AbolishTheMonarchy #2023PublicOrderAct

Wired: How to Protest Safely: What to Bring, What to Do, and What to Avoid

If you’re planning on hitting the streets, here’s what you need to know.

by Louryn Stramp and Lauren Good
June, 2022

"Reproductive rights in America have drastically changed. The US Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, which opens the doors to states criminalizing abortion and blocking access to information about it. Certain legal experts note that the language used in the current draft from Justice Samuel Alito could further erode protections surrounding birth control, gay marriage, and interracial marriage, which implies additional civil rights are under threat.

"This guide to safe protesting was originally written in 2020 during the nationwide outcry over police brutality, which overwhelmingly targets Black people like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade. Whether you’re marching for racial justice, reproductive rights, or climate conservation, our advice applies to most protests.

"If you're thinking about joining a protest near you, there are some crucial factors to consider: Police brutality is an abstract concept for some but a stark reality for others. Similarly, few people think about abortion access until they need it. There are ways you can contribute to police brutality causes or to abortion funds and independent clinics if you don't feel safe protesting or are otherwise unable to physically do so. You can also donate time to community groups, drop off supplies for protests, or contact local legislators.

How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance

"That being said, protesting is a right of all Americans under the First Amendment (more on that below). Before you head out, you should know that police across the country have acted with unnecessary force, including driving vehicles through crowds, partially blinding a photojournalist, and macing children. The list goes on and on.

"If you still want to join in, we've gathered some advice, as well as a list of items you may want to bring with you. Be careful, and stay safe.

Table of Contents

- What to Bring (and Not Bring) to a Protest
- Before You Leave
- Know Your Rights
- While You're at the Protest
- What to Avoid
- What to Do If …
- After the Protest

Read more [paywall]:
https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-protest-safely-gear-tips/

Internet Archive:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230112051520/https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-protest-safely-gear-tips/

#DigitalFreeSpeech #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #SLAPPs

#Toolkit: #Protest #safety tips from #Greenpeace

"Protest is a powerful strategy to demand #justice. Greenpeace has been holding and supporting protests around the world for nearly 50 years. Because of this, we’ve received requests and messages asking for advice on protest tactics, digital, and physical security against #militarized #police forces. While we have compiled this from a US point of view where this Greenpeace team is based, we hope some of what is here is helpful beyond the US.

"We are continuously learning, learning from mistakes, learning from each other. The #activists that make up our Greenpeace community, also come from many protest practices and methods, including #Indigenous-led resistance to #FossilFuel #extraction, the #ImmigrantRights movement, the Movement for Black Lives, [#BLM] and others. We wanted to share some of our learnings so that you can join us in protests that demand systemic changes from fighting for #ClimateJustice to dismantling #WhiteSupremacy. We support you and are fighting with you.

"We want to acknowledge that there are many different types of protest tactics, and that this is not an exhaustive list. We also want to acknowledge that communities of color, especially Black communities and other non-Black Indigenous and communities of color, are policed differently than white communities.

"When we protest we have an opportunity to demand the world we need and to understand how the issues we face are interconnected. As we fight for environmental justice, we show up for racial justice, Indigenous rights, immigrant rights, disability rights and more. While this guide focuses on protests, even if you are not able to join us in the street you can support those who are protesting by providing supplies, donating to bail funds, providing rides, having important conversations with your coworkers, friends, families, and neighbors.

"Also, we want to remind you that we are not your lawyers. This is not legal advice, any tips contained here are only to assist you in thinking through how to engage in protest activity. We urge you to connect with your local organizing and legal community for additional support."

https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/toolkits/protest-safety-tips-from-greenpeace/

#DigitalFreeSpeech #ACAB #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #SLAPPs

Protecting #Activists from #AbusiveLitigation

#SLAPPs in the #GlobalSouth and How to Respond

PUBLISHED: JULY 2020

"In #Thailand, an agricultural company files more than a dozen suits against at least 20 #defendants, targeting #workers, #journalists, and #activists who had spoken out against alleged #LaborAbuses at the company’s chicken farm. In #India, an association of #pesticide manufacturers brings a civil defamation suit against #journalists that had reported on the harmful #health and #environmental effects of pesticide use. In the #Philippines, a #mining company files suit against 85 defendants who had conducted a #PeacefulProtest near the company’s mining site, after the company’s own security forces used #lethal violence against the #protesters. In #SouthAfrica, an #Australian mining company files suit against environmental activists who had criticized a company mine during a lecture at a local university.

What do these suits have in common? They are all “#SLAPPs,” or “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation”: suits filed not to secure relief, but to use the risks and costs of litigation to defuse criticism and opposition and discourage the exercise of fundamental freedoms. SLAPPs have long been prevalent in the #Globa North, but SLAPPs are also being used in the Global South to silence activism.

"In Protecting Activists from Abusive Litigation: SLAPPs in the Global South and How to Respond, ICNL presents the first cross-regional survey of SLAPPs in the Global South, along with the first rigorous comparative analysis of anti-SLAPP policy responses undertaken in the Global North and the Global South. Our survey shows that SLAPPs pose a serious threat to the exercise of fundamental freedoms in the Global South, particularly for activists, civil society organizations, journalists, and community members who dare to criticize powerful entities.

"Our survey, which is far from comprehensive, has identified 82 reported SLAPPs filed in Thailand, India, the Philippines, and South Africa – the most fertile fields for Southern SLAPPs – as well as #Indonesia, #Malaysia, #Armenia, #SierraLeone, and #Honduras. Key features of SLAPPs in our sample include:

- Half of the cases in our sample (41 cases) involved criminal proceedings.
- The most frequent SLAPP targets in our sample were activists and civil society organizations (CSOs) (38 cases, or 46%); journalists and publishers (17 cases, or 21%); and leaders and members of local communities (15 cases, or 18%).
- Nearly all of the cases in our sample – 75 cases, or 91% – were brought by private companies or company officials, with 34 of these cases (41%) brought by mining companies and 28 cases (34%) brought by companies associated with agricultural operations.

"Where the cause of action or charge was reported, the suit was based at least in part on a defamation charge, either civil or criminal, in 66 of 75 cases (88%).

"Of the 33 suits in our sample brought as civil actions, claims in 17 cases (52%) exceeded 1 million USD, with the average claim exceeding 10 million USD."

Full article:

https://www.icnl.org/post/report/slapps-in-the-global-south-report

#HumanRights #Whistleblowing #DigitalFreeSpeech #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas

#SLAPPs In Europe: How The #EU Can Protect Watchdogs From #AbusiveLawsuits

In their new policy paper, #Liberties and other rights and #pressfreedom groups explain why abusive lawsuits (SLAPPs) against watchdogs and journalists threaten #democracies in Europe and what governments and the EU should do tackle it.

by Linda Ravo
January 13, 2022

"The European Commission is set to shortly unveil its proposal for EU-wide measures against SLAPPs. In a new policy paper published today, Liberties and other rights and press freedom groups which form the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (#CASE), explain what SLAPPs are, how big of a threat they are to watchdogs in Europe, and propose what governments and the EU should do tackle the problem.

Censorship by litigation

"Citizens are supposed to be in charge of their democracies. #Watchdogs like #journalists, #rights #defenders and #activist groups are key to enable citizens to get informed, shape their opinions, and keep an eye on people in power to make sure they do what is best for all of us.

"As we explain here, SLAPPs (an acronym which stands for 'strategic lawsuit against public participation'), are a form of abuse of law and justice that #corrupt politicians and powerful #businesses across Europe increasingly make use of to #harass, #bankrupt and intimidate #journalists, activists and other watchdogs into silence. Helped by expensive and unscrupulous law firms, they sue them on grounds of meritless and abusive claims with the purpose of shutting down acts of public participation, including public interest journalism, #PeacefulProtest or #boycotts, #advocacy, #whistleblowing, or simply speaking out against abuse of power."

https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/slapp-case-submission/43948

#DigitalFreeSpeech #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas

#Lawsuits Have Become the Weapon of Choice Against #Activists

Legal intimidation suits known as “#SLAPPs” are becoming the norm for private #corporations and #governments trying to silence those who speak out on matters of public interest.

by Katie Redford
July 17, 2023

“On May 31, #Atlanta #SWAT teams with riot gear and battering rams broke down #MarlonKautz’s door. Police dragged Kautz and two colleagues to jail in their pajamas, charging them with #MoneyLaundering and charity fraud.

“Kautz, Adele MacLean, and Savannah Patterson, are volunteer board members of the #NetworkForStrongCommunities Inc., which was incorporated in 2020. Through it, they are able to raise funds for the #AtlantaSolidarityFund (#ASF). Since 2016, the fund has bailed out people arrested in #Georgia while exercising their First Amendment right to protest and helped them find legal help.

“Recently, the ASF has supported Atlanta activists who have been protesting a new $90 million police training center known as '#CopCity,' arguing that it will rob Atlanta of a #VitalGreenLung and increase inequality in surrounding neighborhoods. The state of Georgia, on the other hand, has charged dozens with 'domestic terrorism' for participating in largely peaceful protests.

“Georgia authorities claim that the money laundering charge is based on evidence of a fund transfer to another organization, but they haven’t shared any other details about their allegations. Magistrate Judge Altman, who presided over the bail hearing, described the state’s evidence as 'unimpressive,' reinforcing the defendants’ claims that the arrests are politically, not legally, motivated.

“Shortly after the arrest, Governor Brian Kemp announced that the state would go after everyone involved, and Attorney General Chris Carr tweeted that the funders of the bail and legal defense fund were next. As an executive director at a climate philanthropy who made charitable donations to the ASF for legal defense, I had to wonder: Was my door going to be battered down next?

“Some of the accused may have trespassed or destroyed property, but to charge protesters with 'domestic terrorism' and a legal defense fund with money laundering is a cynical political act that bears no relation to the misdemeanors alleged. Any American committed to democracy should be interested in making sure these charges lose in both the court of law and the court of public opinion.

“These charges seek to silence and stop opposition to an unpopular development project. They also telegraph a message to others in the state and nationwide: We will not tolerate lawful protest in Georgia. This strategy is known as strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP), which is an intimidation lawsuit, typically used by private corporations against those who speak out on matters of public interest. Various state governments are increasingly deploying this tactic, too.

“SLAPPs don’t usually win in court, but that’s not what they’re intended to do. Instead, they set out to threaten activists and drain the financial resources of social movements. They often unfold as years-long wars of attrition, where corporations and governments with disproportionately large resources grind down the financial, emotional, and legal capacities of activists. The threat of such a suit—typically brought against individuals or groups that confront powerful people or institutions—discourages free speech and association, chilling democracy itself.

“As a lawyer on the front lines of climate justice activism, I witnessed firsthand how a SLAPP was used to weaponize the law against free speech and association. During the mass protests by Indigenous water protectors and environmentalists campaigning against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, SLAPPs were used widely.

“As #StandingRock became a global cause célèbre, the pipeline’s owners brought a $900 million #racketeering case against individuals and #NGOs like #BankTrack and #Greenpeace, alleging a vast global conspiracy to damage the company’s reputation and bottom line through fraud and #defamation.

“A federal court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit. But despite its eventual failure in court, the SLAPP tactic served its intended purpose: intimidation. #KrystalTwoBulls, one of the Standing Rock organizers that my organization represented, said that being sued tangled her up, practically and emotionally, in a legal battle that diverted her attention, taking her away from her work on the climate crisis and #Indigenous #LandRights.

“She began to #censor herself; she withdrew from her community and the movement, fearing that conspiracy allegations might extend to anyone she touched. And that, of course, is the point of these suits: to send out the message to either shut up or suffer the consequences.

“The case against #Kautz in #Atlanta similarly seeks to spark fear in activists and donors against supporting #FirstAmendment rights and legal defense. There is reason to believe that prosecutors may also be preparing #RICO charges against anti–Cop City activists, another dangerous use of the legal system to quell #grassroots movements.

“Since Standing Rock, over 20 states have passed '#CriticalInfrastructure' laws, which dramatically increase civil and criminal penalties related to protests at or near #FossilFuel projects. #DomesticTerrorism laws like that in Georgia have a similar intention: to weaponize the legal system against critics and stifle #DissentingVoices.

“I have no doubt that the majority of the domestic terrorism charges around Cop City will fail. But in the process, a political point will have been made, at the expense of the constitutional right to free speech. People protesting to protect the #environment and #climate will have been publicly accused of being harmful to America’s security, and they will have been forced to defend themselves—likely at exorbitant cost—against a 30-year jail sentence. Other potential activists will surely remember these charges when they consider whether it’s worth it to attend a concert, sit-in, or protest.

"The best strategy for stopping SLAPP suits in their tracks, whether they emanate from the private sector or are used by the state, is to keep speaking out, to support defamed activists, and to make the litigants pay a price. About 30 states have introduced legislation that protects against SLAPPs. And last year, #Jami Raskin introduced the #SLAPPProtectionAct of 2022 to #Congress. It must be reintroduced.

“My organization, #EquationCampaign, created a fund to provide lawyers and legal support for people who face this kind of legal retaliation for their environmental and climate work. I’m astonished at the wide range of people who need our help: from #farmers and ranchers to #journalists and #IndigenousActivists. All of them are on the receiving end of David vs. Goliath legal tactics that have long served powerful interests with near-endless resources.

“Absent federal protections, we all must be vigilant in the face of the egregious proliferation of #antiprotest laws and lawsuits.

“#Democracy and the future of this #planet require people to speak up. The law should serve—not silence—those of us who do."

https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/slapp-legal-intimidation-activists/

#ForestDefenders #DefendTheForest #StopCopCity #DirectAction #Fascism #RICO #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #EnvironmentalRacism #NoDAPL #DakotaAccess #StandingWithStandingRock

How #corporate #SLAPP lawsuits endanger our rights and the #planet

by Chris Greenberg
25 April 2023

"Hope creates the conditions for #ClimateAction. And climate action nurtures hope. Just as hope and action have a reinforcing relationship, so do fear and silence.

"The #polluting #corporations who put #profits over people and the planet know this and they use their resources to intimidate, to instill fear, and ultimately to silence the people directly impacted by their short-sighted, extractive greed.

"#SLAPPs, a type of abusive lawsuit, are a key tool used by corporate power to suppress #FreeSpeech and people power. These cynical lawsuits can force non-profit organizations like #Greenpeace International to divert precious resources away from campaigning for a more just and sustainable society. Perhaps even worse, SLAPPs can intimidate targets from challenging powerful corporations in the future.

"Every SLAPP, regardless of the defendant, is an attack on everyone who believes in the power of free speech and the right to #PeacefulProtest. No one should be bullied for speaking up on behalf of people and the planet.

"But CorporateBullies beware!

"In a massive win for free speech, a US federal court recently dismissed a seven-year lawsuit brought by #ResoluteForestryProducts against a number of Greenpeace staff members and entities, including #GreenpeaceInternational and #GreenpeaceUSA. The #Canadian #logging company sued the Greenpeace defendants for CA $100 million in an attempt to silence and bankrupt them, after criticism of its #unsustainable #forestry practices.

"Let’s take a closer look at SLAPPs so you can recognize them when you see them:

"What does #SLAPP stand for? SLAPP stands for '#StrategicLawsuitAgainstPublicParticipation '. These lawsuits are used by #corporations attempting to diminish or even stop public participation in civil society. SLAPPs often lack any kind of merit, and don’t need to result in a legal victory to achieve the outcome desired by corporate bullies.

"SLAPPs waste time and cause financial and sometimes #PsychologicalHarm to targeted individuals and organisations who have to hire #lawyers and engage in costly #LegalBattles, sometimes to the point of facing bankruptcy. These lawsuits attempt to silence free speech and limit peaceful #dissent by using litigation as a tool for deterring non-violent protest and even documenting and bearing witness."

Read more:
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/59478/slapp-lawsuits-corporate-bullies-vs-free-speech/

#DigitalFreeSpeech #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas

#Greenpeace Stands Up Against #SLAPPs And Wins

By Joe Mullin
April 26, 2023

"The U.S. litigation system is meant to resolve serious disputes. Unfortunately, the high cost of litigation can be weaponized as a means of #harassment and #censorship. That’s become all too common, and the last few decades have seen the rise of what’s known as a #StrategicLawsuitAgainstPublicParticipation, or #SLAPP.

"At #EFF, as more speech of all types has moved online, we’ve seen SLAPPs proliferate over #DigitalSpeech. SLAPPs get filed against #protesters who oppose #OilPipelines, and regular people doing everyday things like sending #emails to local officials, or even posting an online review.

"Five years ago, together with Greenpeace and other environmental nonprofits, EFF helped create the #ProtectTheProtest coalition, or #PTP. It’s a group of nonprofits that supports its members and others in their fights against SLAPP lawsuits.

"One of the lawsuits that spurred the formation of PTP was #ResoluteForestryProducts v. Greenpeace. In this case, a #logging company claimed that Greenpeace’s advocacy for #CanadianForests amounted to a 'global #fraud' that should be punished under civil #RICO laws—U.S. federal laws that were originally intended to go after organized crime.

"Following a summary judgment hearing last week, the Resolute v. Greenpeace case has finally been put to rest, with a complete victory for Greenpeace. This baseless lawsuit, which lasted seven years, should never have been brought in the first place. We hope Greenpeace’s victory against #Resolute sends a strong message to corporate SLAPP plaintiffs—you won’t win, and your targets won’t stay silent."

Read more:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/greenpeace-stands-against-slapps-and-wins

#DigitalFreeSpeech #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas

Just Stop Oil activist jailed for six months for taking part in slow march

Stephen Gingell, 57, thought to be first to receive prison sentence under new Public Order Act

by Damien Gayle
Fri 15 Dec 2023

"A #ClimateActivist has been jailed for six months after pleading guilty to taking part in a peaceful #SlowMarch protest on a London road.

"The sentence handed to Stephen Gingell, 57, is thought to be the first jailing under a new law that critics say makes anyone walking in a road liable for prosecution for 'interference with key national infrastructure'.

"#Section7 of the #PublicOrderAct2023 bans any act that prevents newspaper printing presses, power plants, #oil and #gas extraction or distribution sites, #harbours, #airports, #railways or #roads 'from being used or operated to any extent', with a potential penalty of 12 months in jail.

"Gingell, a father of three from #Manchester, was one of about 40 supporters of #JustStopOil who spent about 30 minutes marching on #HollowayRoad in north #London at about 4pm on 12 November, the climate campaign group said.

"He pleaded guilty to breach of section 7 at a hearing that same month at Wimbledon magistrates court. On Thursday, his case was transferred to Manchester magistrates court, where he was sentenced to six months.

"Just Stop Oil has been campaigning since 2022 for the UK government to stop all new fossil fuel production. The campaign’s 'guerrilla tactics' were cited by the Home Office when it introduced the Public Order Act’s tough new #AntiProtest measures to parliament.

"Police began using section 7 to tackle Just Stop Oil’s protests at the end of October, arresting 60 people taking part in a march in Parliament Square. In a campaign of slow march protests carried out by the group between then and 4 December, 470 of the group’s supporters were arrested 630 times, with about half of those arrests under the new law.

"A spokesperson for the campaign said: 'Section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023, a law drafted by the #FossilFuel lobby, was introduced in April by Priti Patel, and covers ‘interference with the use or operation of key national infrastructure’. It seems this government has now made walking down the road, walking on the public highway an illegal act that is worthy of imprisonment.

"'How many fathers will be imprisoned before those planning to kill us are stopped? New oil and gas will see millions upon millions lose their homes, livelihoods and lives. Protected by the government, by failed politicians, by the police, those committing genocide continue to walk free, those protesting the killings are banged up. Whose side are you on?'

"The human rights organisation Liberty criticised Gingell’s sentencing. Katy Watts, a lawyer at Liberty, said: “It is shocking to see such harsh sentences handed down to protesters. This is yet another unnecessary and draconian law introduced by a government that is hell-bent on discouraging people from standing up for what they believe in. It is a clear attempt to silence people and for the government to hide from all accountability.

"Protest is a fundamental right, not a gift from the state. Government should be protecting our right to protest, not criminalising it.'"
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/15/just-stop-oil-activist-is-first-to-be-jailed-under-new-uk-protest-law?share=jetpack-whatsapp

#BigOilAndGas #WaterProtectors #DirectAction #CriminalizingDissent #DefendTheForest #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #ACAB #Fascism #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #AbolishTheMonarchy #RightToProtest

Crackdowns on peaceful #environmental protests should stop and give way to more social dialogue

02/06/2023

"By way of an example, in recent months peaceful environmental protesters were pepper sprayed by police in #Austria, manhandled and injured by riot police in #France, dispersed in #Georgia, and subjected to arrests and detention in #Finland, the #Netherlands, and #Serbia. Activists who blocked a street in the centre of #Munich were placed in preventive police detention for 30 days, made possible by legislation amended in 2021, and the homes of many climate protesters were searched across #Germany. In several European countries, courts have imposed prison sentences, with and without probation, as well as penalties of community service, on environmental campaigners. Environmental activists were also targeted by vexatious lawsuits – so-called #SLAPPS (strategic lawsuits against public participation), for instance recently in #Bosnia and #Herzegovina. In France, #Spain and the #UnitedKingdom, journalists and media workers were arrested, investigated and, in some cases, criminally charged in the context of environmental protests they were covering."

Read more:
https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/crackdowns-on-peaceful-environmental-protests-should-stop-and-give-way-to-more-social-dialogue

#Europe #WaterProtectors #DirectAction #CriminalizingDissent #DefendTheForest
#EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #Fascism #SilencingDissent
#CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations
#Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch

Prevent: Rise in #climate activists [in the #UK] referred to anti-terror scheme

Joshua Nevett - BBC News
Fri, December 22, 2023

"In its Prevent report, #AmnestyInternational found some training materials listed environmental causes 'as potential forms of an ill-defined extremism that can lead to a referral'."

Full article:
https://news.yahoo.com/prevent-rise-climate-activists-referred-014912801.html

#WaterProtectors #DirectAction #CriminalizingDissent
#DefendTheForest #EnvironmentalActivists
#ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #ACAB #Fascism #SilencingDissent
#CorporateColonialism
#EcoActivists #Censorship
#HumanRightsViolations
#Article20 #AbolishTheMonarchy
#RightToProtest #SlowMarch