New breed of political prisoner arises in Britain as anti-protest sentences rise

Custodial sentences for direct action and civil disobedience have become more frequent and longer for climate and Palestine-solidarity activists. A reported analysis identified 286 prison cases tied to protest, totaling 136 years of jail time. Data from 256 cases showed an average detention period of 28 weeks, with one in three protesters jailed for six months or more and one in five for more than a year. The report links this pattern to increased anti-protest legislation, expanded police powers, corporate and public-body injunctions, removal of legal defenses by judges, and exceptionally long sentences. Remand is described as an initial tactic that chills protest and civil disobedience, with final sentences often exceeding expectations.

"These are exceptional sentences that are being used to apply to protests which are themselves profoundly political. So it's clear that extreme sentences and the level of remand detentions [before trial] at an extreme level are being used to respond to one category of prisoners and that's prisoners who've been detained because they've been involved in civil disobedience, direct action as a result of political protest. So there is something going on which is profoundly political. Very often those protesters are reflecting majority rather than a minority view."

"The report describes remand as the first line of attack, with the effect of chilling protest and civil disobedience. The researchers found that in 60% of cases, final sentences were more..."

"In what they say is the first analysis of the jailing of Britain's new political prisoners, the researchers identified 286 cases involving climate and Palestine-solidarity activists who were sent to prison for protest for a total amount of jail time of 136 years. The average detention period in the 256 cases for which data was available was 28 weeks, with one in three protesters jailed for six months or more and one in five for more than a year."

"The research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the protest group Defend Our Juries says that custodial sentences for acts of direct action or civil disobedience were once rare but are now being imposed with increasing length and frequency. Their report points to an increase in anti-protest legislation in England and Wales, police powers and civil law injunctions brought by corporations and public bodies as well as judges removing legal defences and exceptionally long sentences."

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