Emma Smart from Weymouth has received a four month sentence handed down by the High Court. Emma joins nine other Insulate Britain climate change activists have been jailed for breaching an injunction designed to stop them from blocking roads.
Emma statement to the proceedings stated:
‘The prosecution is here today by her own words to “ensure future compliance”.
Well we are here to “ensure future survival”.
I am proud of my actions and I stand by what I did.
I am asking that you consider my sentence today in that my actions are proportionate to the crisis we are facing.
A British crisis where 8,500 people die every year from cold and hunger in their own homes. Home. A place where we should be safe.
A global crisis where rising emissions are putting us on course for the collapse of society in our lifetimes.
We have been told by Sir David King that what we do in the next 3-4 years will determine the fate of humanity.
I am doing everything I can to protect the most vulnerable in society; globally and right here in this country.
We are all vulnerable in a climate crisis; you me, everyone in this courtroom. No-one is immune, no one is safe.
When I see injustice I cannot stand by and watch harm to life.
If I saw an elderly person drowning I could not stand by and watch- I would swim to them.
If I saw a child trapped in a burning house I could not stand by and watch- I would run to them.
If I saw a baby falling from a window I could not stand by and watch- I would catch them.
If I saw a bird trapped in netting I could not stand by and watch- I would free them.
Well, right now every one of us is drowning, burning, falling and trapped.
I have spent my entire adult life working to protect those that don’t have a voice or are unable to stand up for themselves.
I have worked for almost 20 years in wildlife conservation; I am a Scientist and a prison sentence will take me away from valuable environmental work that I am involved in.
I used to believe that my place in fighting this battle, and it is a battle, was in a university, in a research lab, in the field and at my desk. I now know that where I stand right now and where I’m likely to go is the place where that fight must take place.
I am an auntie to two brilliant nieces; Ivy 7 and Daisy 5. I play a huge role in their lives and education and a prison sentence for me is one for them too.
Young people alive today will experience unimaginable suffering because of our government’s inaction on climate breakdown. They are knowingly destroying the next generation. It is my responsibility and my right to act now to protect the future of my young nieces.
Our government is betraying us; betraying our vulnerable people and betraying our children’s future.
I believe that my intentions are morally right, even if my actions are deemed legally wrong.
This court may see me as being on the wrong side of the law, but in my heart I know I am on the right side of history.
I will not be a bystander.’
Here is where it began. Right here in Dorset…:
The nine, aged between 20 and 58 years old, were jailed at the High Court in London after they admitted breaching the injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 on 8 October.
Ana Heyatawin, 58, and Louis McKechnie, 20, were jailed for three months, while Ben Buse, 36, Roman Paluch-Machnik, 28, Oliver Rock, 41, Emma Smart, 44, Tim Speers, 36, and James Thomas, 47, all received four-month sentences.
Submissions made by Ben Taylor, 37, to the court on Tuesday were described by Dame Victoria Sharp as “inflammatory” and a “call to arms”, and he was therefore given a longer sentence of six months “to deter (him) from committing further breaches”.
Insulate Britain, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, is a campaign group calling for better insulation for UK homes to help tackle the climate crisis. The activists have blocked motorways, the Port of Dover, and roads outside Parliament as part of their campaign – with many demonstrators gluing themselves.
Earlier today, the judge, sitting with Mr Justice Chamberlain, said there was no alternative to custodial sentences because the group’s actions were so serious and they had made it clear they intended to further flout court orders.
She said: “The defendants, or some of them, seem to want to be martyrs for their cause, and the media campaign surrounding this hearing appears designed to suggest this.
“We, however, have to act dispassionately and proportionately.”
The group and their supporters chanted “we are unstoppable, another world is possible”, as they were led to the cells through the dock by security officers.
Raj Chada, a solicitor at Hodge Jones and Allen law firm who supported the protesters, said: “With these prison terms, the long and honourable tradition of civil disobedience is under attack again.
“Rather than leaving courts to imprison those that raise the alarm, it should be the government that acts to protect us against the climate crisis.”
Insulate Britain says it intends to continue with the protests, which have sparked anger among motorists and others affected by the blockades, until the government agrees to insulate homes.
Myriam Stacey QC, representing the government, told the court on Tuesday that the injunction banning protest activity on the M25 motorway was granted by a High Court judge on 21 September.
She said it was accepted by National Highways that the protests fell into the category of “civil disobedience”, and that a National Highways official had described the action, which began on 13 September and has continued for around nine weeks so far, as “unprecedented and sustained”.
She told the court the official also described the protesters as “peaceful and compliant”, and said they are “loosely affiliated” to Extinction Rebellion.
She said the protest on 8 October began at around 8.30am, with protesters blocking two lanes, and it ended shortly after 10am when the final two protesters – who had glued themselves to the ground – were removed by police.
The High Court has so far issued five injunctions to prevent protesters from blocking roads.
They include four injunctions granted to National Highways, banning demonstrations on the M25, around the Port of Dover and on major roads around London, and one to Transport for London (TfL).
TfL was granted a civil banning order aimed at preventing protesters from obstructing traffic on some of the capital’s busiest roads.
Those who breach the injunctions could be found in contempt of court and face a maximum penalty of two years in prison or an unlimited fine.
Ms Stacey said further committal proceedings will be issued against other Insulate Britain protesters by the end of the week, relating to protests on 27 October.
She also said evidence is currently being gathered to bring proceedings in relation to protests on 29 October and 2 November.
So far, 161 people have been involved in the roadblock campaign and there have been more than 800 arrests.
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