Four Just Stop Oil supporters have been sentenced to prison for up to three years, while one has been given a suspended sentence. The five took action in August 2022, demanding the UK government immediately halts all licensing and consents for new fossil fuel exploration and extraction.
Just Stop Oil: five sentenced, four sent to jail
Sam Johnson, Larch Maxey, Joe Howlett, Christopher Bennett, and Autumn Wharrie appeared before Judge Graham in Basildon Crown Court on Friday 6 September, after they were found guilty in March of ‘conspiracy to cause a public nuisance’, a statutory offence under the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Sam Johnson and Christopher Bennett were sentenced to 18 months, Larch Maxey was sentenced to three years and Joe Howlett was sentenced to 15 months, whilst Autumn Wharrie received a suspended sentence.
Just Stop Oil had taken action by occupying tunnels dug under the road leading to the Navigator Oil Terminal in Thurrock, Essex. This occurred simultaneously with three other tunnelling actions in Essex and Warwickshire, as well as occupations of oil trucks and terminals overground. These combined efforts massively reduced the flow of oil in the UK at the time.
Xavier Trimmer-Gonzalez took action with the group, but died in 2023 after taking his own life whilst under strict curfew and being subject to invasive electronic monitoring. Xavi spent time in prison on remand following his actions with Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil. Friends of Xavi reported that his isolation due to strict bail conditions and the threat of returning to prison was a major factor in the deterioration of his mental health.
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said:
Xavi was loved for his bright spirit, his strength, his humour and wit. Those who had the joy of knowing him and sharing his life, continue to feel his loss every day. Xavi took action with a sense of service and love. He demanded a future worth living and for that the state sent him, with many others, to prison. If the judiciary continues to imprison and penalise good, courageous people, then the mental burden visited on our young people will only increase.
The group join 21 other Just Stop Oil political prisoners, including the Whole Truth Five who were sentenced to 4-5 years in prison in June at Southwark Crown Court, in the longest ever sentences handed out for nonviolent climate action.
Punished for taking action over the climate crisis
Sam Johnson said before the sentencing:
Two years ago, I took part in an action digging tunnels to block the Navigator oil terminal. I did this to protect my nephew Alex, who was six at the time. He’s now eight years old, and in these past two years, we’ve watched climate breakdown unfold in real time.
The reality is so terrifying it’s almost unimaginable – and that’s part of the problem. Make no mistake: this crisis will affect every single human alive today, and far sooner than most people think.
It’s time to ask ourselves: What do we truly hold dear? What are we willing to fight for? Because we could lose it all.
The group remained in the 52-foot tunnel for 13 days. At the time, Chief Constable of Essex Police, BJ Harrington, recognised in a statement that the climate crisis is a “serious concern”, however, Essex police put the lives of the action takers and motorists at risk by opening the roads over the tunnel.
At the time, action taker Joe Howlett said:
The climate crisis is caused by a very small minority of people and it’s those same people who are currently profiteering from the cost of living crisis. That’s why I’ve spent the last ten days living in a tunnel under a road leading to the Navigator oil terminal in Essex.
UK prisons overflowing – but let’s jail Just Stop Oil
Today’s sentencing comes as the Copernicus Climate Change Service has confirmed that Summer 2024 was the Earth’s hottest on record. August was the 13th month in a 14-month period where the global average temperature exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
It is increasingly likely that 2024 will be the hottest year on record globally, according to the EU’s climate service. The United Nations’ weather and climate agency chief, Celeste Saulo, of the World Meteorological Organisation, warned that spiralling temperatures should trigger a global “red alert.”
Meanwhile, the prison population has reached a new record high. Official figures showed there were 88,521 people imprisoned on Friday, 171 more than the previous record set at the end of last week. Ministers are considering sending prisoners to serve sentences in Estonia in order to address the capacity problem faced by British prisons- where just over 1,000 spaces are thought to be left in England and Wales.
62,830 people have already signed Just Stop Oil’s petition calling for an end to the imprisonment of truth tellers. You can join them here.
Featured image via Just Stop Oil
