The defense for three activists from #FirstNations argues abuse of process by security forces around the pipeline construction site, as the U.N. and Amnesty International allege excessive force, surveillance and #criminalization of land defenders.
By Keerti Gopal
January 24, 2024
"The trial of three Indigenous land defenders arrested at a pipeline construction site on #unceded#Wetsuweten First Nation land was adjourned until spring on Friday, as the court looks into potential abuses by Canadian police.
"In the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Smithers, B.C., the trial is the latest development in the nearly 12-year fight against the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline in the Canadian province.
"Land defenders #Sleydo’ #MollyWickham, #ShayLynnSampson and #CoreyJocko were found guilty of criminal contempt earlier this month, with Justice Michael Tanmen ruling that they broke a court injunction forbidding them from blocking access to construction for the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
"But immediately following the verdict, Tanmen began a week-long hearing to listen to the three individuals’ abuse of process applications, which allege that their Charter rights were violated during their arrests and detentions. During the hearing, the defense argued to stay the charges based on these applications, citing excessive force, aggressive behavior, offensive language and mocking by police.
"In Canada, the abuse of process doctrine allows courts to stay, or postpone, a proceeding on the grounds that some element of the process was unfair, and might undermine the legal system. In this case, the abuse of process application focused on treatment during and after arrests.
"The trial began on Jan. 8 and consisted mainly of witness testimony and evidence gathered in November 2021, during one of four major police raids at the pipeline between 2019 and 2023. The evidence included videos from social media and other videos taken by officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada’s national police service.
"The videos, and testimony from witnesses, including #RCMP officers, detailed the police using dogs and firearms and wielding chainsaws to cut down the doors of a cabin where Sleydo’ and Sampson were arrested. Jocko was arrested in another small structure close by.
"The activists allege police used excessive force to break down the doors and used offensive language, showing videos in which officers described arrestees as 'orcs' and 'ogres.' The abuse of process hearing will likely restart in June.
"Chief Na’Moks, a Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief and prominent advocate against the pipeline, said that the trial may serve as a template for future legal battles across Canada, where several other pipeline projects are underway.
"'This is going to affect everything else that happens, not only in #BritishColumbia but in #Canada,' Chief Na’Moks said last week. “This is the template that they want to use...and the harassment and constant abuse of #HumanRights has to stop.”
"Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders have opposed #pipeline construction through their traditional territory since before the #CoastalGasLink pipeline project was first proposed. In December 2018, the B.C. Supreme Court issued an interim injunction to the company, which prohibited anyone from blocking pipeline access roads or work sites. A year later, on Dec. 31, 2019, the court granted a permanent injunction for the duration of the project.
[...]
"Last month, Tammen determined there was sufficient evidence to convict three #Indigenous#LandDefenders — Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jocko. They were arrested the day after Dennis and later charged with criminal #contempt. Hearings have begun into an application by the defence to stay the charges based on police conduct during the arrests.
"#ChiefDstahyl’s arrest took place in October 2021, after a series of interactions with Coastal GasLink workers and security contractors on the Shea Forest Service Road on Likhts’amisyu Clan territory.
"During those interactions, Dsta’hyl and others blocked access to a work camp and 'seized and rendered inoperable' multiple pieces of machinery belonging to Coastal GasLink contractors by cutting electrical wires and removing batteries, according to evidence presented during the trial.
"When Dsta’hyl was arrested, he had four batteries from heavy machinery in the back of his pickup truck, the judge said.
"'There is little dispute concerning the basic facts,' Tammen said, noting that video evidence documenting the incidents was presented during the trial.
"'Chief Dsta’hyl, acting as an enforcement officer for the Likhts’amisyu Clan, participated in the decommissioning of a piece of heavy equipment owned by a CGL subcontractor on Oct. 17, 2021. That action consisted of removing the battery from the equipment, an excavator, thus rendering it inoperable.'
"Witnesses for the defence included other #Likhtsamisyu Chiefs, who described the Wet’suwet’en traditional clan system and its role in governing the traditional territory. Among the Chiefs’ duties is preservation and protection of the traditional territory, or #yintah, Tammen said.
"Tammen also summarized the Wet’suwet’en law of trespass, something described in detail by defence witnesses, saying permission is required to access territory belonging to a house group 'beyond just passing through it.'
[...]
"Criminal contempt penalties can include fines or imprisonment. Sentencing has been set for 9 a.m. on March 6."
#JustStopOil supporter and gantry climber, Cressie Gethin, has been found guilty. Cressie took action in July 2022, demanding the UK government immediately halts all licensing and consents for new fossil fuel exploration and extraction.
The trial began on the 5th February at Isleworth Crown Court, with Judge Duncan presiding. The jury has found Cressie guilty by a majority of ten to two. Cressie, 22, a music student from Hereford, will be sentenced on the 3rd of May with two others. They face a possible ten year custodial sentence. [2]
During the trial Cressie was prevented from talking about her reasons for taking action and was denied any legal defence by the judge. The court heard a witness testimony from acclaimed naturalist and television presenter, Chris Packham, who commented that those taking action like Cressie “should be commended for sounding a vital alarm”. He added: “I am attending court to support Cressie Gethin because I don’t think she is getting a fair trial. I think, along with the UN, that the UK’s protest laws and sentencing of protesters are unjust, draconian, and in conflict with our basic human rights.”
Cressie climbed a motorway gantry above the M25 on the 20th July 2022, two days after the governments’ net zero strategy was declared unlawful, and one day after the UK recorded its highest ever temperature of 40.3 degrees celsius, a milestone that scientists previously thought was impossible. 61,000 excess deaths were recorded across Europe as a result of the extreme heat that summer, whilst the UK government continued to licence new oil and gas. [5]
Speaking before the action in 2022, Cressie said:
“I am terrified by the extreme heat in the UK this week, knowing that this will only get worse as we continue to extract and burn more and more fossil fuels. This country has the technology and money to begin a just and rapid transition to renewable energy immediately, but our government refuses to do so. I feel it is my duty as a human being to demand change in a way that cannot be ignored.
Thousands of people will die this week as a result of the extreme temperatures we are experiencing in the UK. We are in this situation because of increasing global temperatures caused by the emissions from burning fossil fuels. Against this backdrop, the UK government plans to open new oil and gas fields. I am dumbfounded by their negligence.
I am thinking of the countless people across the country and abroad who are now experiencing illness and death as a result of the climate crisis. People are angry that our government is continuing down the path of destruction, and we will not simply stand by and let this happen.”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson commented:
“It would be extremely convenient for everyone if the climate crisis could be removed from our lives by the ruling of a Judge. If we could imprison the wildfires, if we could arrest famines, or if we could legislate against the rising sea waters that will leave parts of Britain submerged, that would be a fantastic outcome – but the reality is that we can’t and rapid decarbonisation is the only way of preventing these horrifying outcomes.
However, the judiciary – like the police – is proving to be an effective arm of the oil and gas industry, by silencing and imprisoning members of the public taking nonviolent action against climate collapse. Future generations will be disgusted by rulings such as this.”
As the world passes tipping points that threaten the breakdown of ordered civilization, world leaders, captured by the interests of oil lobbyists and big business, are failing to protect our communities. British citizens are sick of being led by liars and crooks. Until we stop Tory oil, supporters of Just Stop Oil will continue taking proportionate action to demand necessary change. Sign up for action at juststopoil.org.
"Greta Thunberg and four co-defendants have been found not guilty of breaking the law when they refused to follow police instructions to move on during a #ClimateProtest.
"District Judge John Law threw out a public order charge due to 'no evidence' of any offence being committed adding police attempted to impose 'unlawful' conditions.
"The 21-year-old was arrested at a #ClimateCrisis demonstration near the InterContinental Hotel in Mayfair on 17 October.
"The judge said that the conditions imposed on protesters were 'so unclear that it is unlawful'.
"He added that it meant that 'anyone failing to comply were actually committing no offence'."
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."
"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."
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."
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.
I just came across a piece about #LithiumMining in #Arkansas using a method touted to be "greener". Like I'm always saying, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true. Also, #ExxonLied then -- who's to say they aren't now?!
Some questions about the plan to mine lithium in south Arkansas
By Sam Watson
November 14, 2023
"What are the environmental impacts here? This question is difficult to answer at this point. Normal lithium extraction is quite #environmentally damaging; it often involves treating brine containing lithium with sulfuric acid and letting the liquid evaporate in open pools, leaving lithium behind. #Exxon stated that they’d use something called 'direct lithium extraction.' There are several versions of this process, but we don’t yet know what Exxon will use. All of them have different environmental impacts, some more severe than others. The key here will be regulation and monitoring, but we have serious concerns here. The Division of Environmental Quality may not have capacity for this kind of continuous monitoring and the state’s friendliness to #OilAndGas makes us worried that upfront regulations to protect the #environment and people of south Arkansas will be lacking at best."
"On this week’s #MakingContact, we bring you a special encore of an episode that first aired in June. We’ll hear an extended interview with #IveyCamilleManybeadsTso, a #queer#Diné filmmaker and director of the award-winning #documentary Powerlands.
By Euronews Green with Reuters
Published on August 10, 2023
"#SimonLachner had plans to glue himself to a German city thoroughfare in June to call public attention to #ClimateChange. Instead, he ended up in police custody before he'd even left his home.
"Lachner, 28, is one of thousands of #activists caught up in a European crackdown on direct action protests which gathered pace last year. #Protesters are demanding urgent government action against climate change.
"#Roadblocks on major motorways in #Britain have caused traffic chaos, protests at #oil installations in #Germany have disrupted supplies, and in #France, thousands of activists and police clashed over #water usage, leaving dozens injured.
"Determined to prevent such protests from strengthening further, states in Germany and national authorities in France are invoking legal powers often used against organised crime and extremist groups to wiretap and track activists, Reuters found, based on conversations with four prosecutors, #police in both countries and more than a dozen protesters.
"In #Berlin alone, police have spent hundreds of thousands of hours working on more than 4,500 incidents registered against the 'The #LastGeneration' and '#ExtinctionRebellion' groups, according to previously unreported data from police.
"State authorities in Germany are widely using preventative #detention to stop people from protesting, including holding at least one person for as long as 30 days without charge.
"This is permissible under Bavarian law, the prosecutors consulted by Reuters said.
"Lawmakers passed new surveillance and detention laws in France in July and in Britain in May. Britain is making it illegal to lock, or glue, yourself to property.
"France has used an anti-terrorism unit to question some #ClimateActivists, the police confirmed to Reuters.
"The governments in Germany and Britain said the response to the protests was aimed at preventing damaging criminal actions. The French government declined to comment but has previously said the state must be able to combat what it calls 'radicalisation'.
"Activists say they turned to direct action after the failure of other protest strategies. #CivilDisobedience has a long history in #SocialMovements, including in the fight for the vote for women and the US #CivilRghts movement."
The #UK is following in other #European countries footsteps with new powers to break up the #climate group's slow marches.
By Euronews Green
Published on 31/10/2023
"More than 60 #CimateActivists have been arrested in #London under the UK’s 'repressive' new anti-protest laws.
"Just Stop Oil protesters were taking part in a ‘slow march’ around Parliament Square yesterday morning (30 October), demanding an end to new #oil and #gas licenses.
"Within 10 minutes, Metropolitan police arrived - blocking their path and forcing activists off the road. When this proved unsuccessful, videos and photos show police kneeling on and handcuffing protesters, before carrying them into vans.
"This is the first time that the Met have made arrests under section 7 of the #PublicOrderAct 2023, which bans any activity that 'interferes with the use or operation of any key national infrastructure in #England and #Wales.'
Industry Knew—and Hid—Dangers of #GasStoves Over 50 Years Ago
Brett WilkinsMar 07, 2023
"Newly uncovered documents published last week by #DeSmog reveal that the leading #GasIndustry trade group knew over 50 years ago that cooking with gas stoves could harm human #health and tried to cover up the evidence.
"The DeSmog revelations regarding the #AmericanGasAssociation (AGA) came as the gas industry is pushing back against climate and public health advocates' efforts to ban new gas stoves amid mounting scientific evidence that the appliances threaten the warming planet and people's health.
"Recent studies—which, among other things, showed that #NitrogenDioxide, #CarbonMonoxide, and ultrafine particles produced by gas stoves cause a range of health problems, including 1 in 8 U.S. cases of childhood #asthma—sparked fast and furious backlash from the gas industry and its congressional boosters.
"'It's less widely known that the gas industry has long sponsored its own research into the problem of indoor air pollution from gas stoves,' wrote DeSmog's Rebecca John. 'Now, newly discovered documents reveal that the American Gas Association was studying the health and indoor pollution risks from gas stoves as far back as the early 1970s—that they knew much more, at a far earlier date, than has been previously documented.""
"Back in 1979, #Exxon had privately studied options for avoiding #GlobalWarming. It found that with immediate action, if the industry moved away from #FossilFuels and instead focused on #renewable energy, fossil fuel pollution could start to decline in the 1990s and a major #ClimateCrisis could be avoided.
"But the industry didn't pursue that path. Instead, colleagues and I recently found that in the late 1980s, Exxon and other oil companies coordinated a global effort to dispute #ClimateScience, block fossil fuel controls and keep their products flowing.
"We know about it through internal documents and the words of industry insiders, who are now beginning to share what they saw with the public. We also know that in 1989, the fossil fuel industry created something called the Global Climate Coalition—but it wasn't an environmental group like the name suggests; instead, it worked to sow doubt about climate change and lobbied lawmakers to block clean energy legislation and climate treaties throughout the 1990s.
"For example, in 1997, the Global Climate Coalition's chairman, William O'Keefe, who was also an executive vice president for the American Petroleum Institute, wrote in the Washington Post that 'Climate scientists don't say that burning oil, gas and coal is steadily warming the earth,' contradicting what the industry had known for decades. The fossil fuel industry also funded think tanks and biased studies that helped slow progress to a crawl."
By CLAIRE RUSH
Updated 6:41 PM EDT, October 19, 2023
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — "Federal regulators on Thursday approved the expansion of a natural gas pipeline in the Pacific Northwest over the protest of environmental groups and top officials in West Coast states, who said it goes against the region’s plans to address #ClimateChange and could pose a #wildfire risk.
"The project, known as GTN Xpress, aims to expand the capacity of the Gas Transmission Northwest pipeline, which runs through Idaho, Washington and Oregon, by about 150 million cubic feet (4.2 million cubic meters) of natural gas per day. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave it the green light in a vote on Thursday.
#BigOilAndGas can afford to fix the problem they created!
Largest oil and gas producers made close to $100bn in first quarter of 2022
Shell made $9.1bn in profit, almost three times what it made in the same period last year, while Exxon raked in $8.8bn
Oliver Milman, Fri 13 May 2022
"#Shell made $9.1bn in profit from January to March, almost three times what it made in the same period last year, while #Exxon raked in $8.8bn, also a near threefold increase on 2021.
"#Chevron upped its profits to $6.5bn and #BP reveled in its highest first-quarter profits in a decade, making $6.2bn. #CoterraEnergy, a Texas-based firm, had the largest relative windfall of the 28 companies, with a 449% increase in profits on last year, to $818m."
TPTB love to tell us to eat vegan or drive less or stop using #incandescent light bulbs, when the BIG PROBLEM is being caused by #BigOil and #BigGas!
#Methane is a more potent polluter than #CO2 - here’s how energy firms can help contain it
Oct 26, 2021
"Methane is a #GreenhouseGas that’s 80 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. It is estimated to account for 30% of the rise in global temperatures."
Hmmmm.... So #MethaneLeaks are a substantial source of #ClimateChange. Well then, #BigOilAndGas needs to take care of that ASAP! And so do any responsible nations!