The activists, who appeared before magistrates at two separate hearings in London and Birmingham, had defied the order to take part in a blockade of the Kingsbury oil terminal near Tamworth in Staffordshire on Wednesday. But when they appeared at Queen Elizabeth’s Crown Court in Birmingham and the Crown Court in London on Thursday, they refused to comply, standing on chairs with their backs to the judge and reading prepared statements about the scale of the crisis. One of the defendants took off his shirt to reveal the words ‘Sham justice kills kids’ written on his body, while another held up a copy of David Wallace-Wells’ book The Uninhabitable Earth and recommended it to the court. Many of the protesters have made it clear they will continue to take action at Kingsbury Terminal if they are released on bail, despite a warrant banning protests at the site still in place. In response, 30 protesters in Birmingham and 21 in London were remanded in custody and are due to appear in court again next week after the Just Stop Oil campaign group said they could face lengthy jail terms. A total of 54 Just Stop Oil protesters are now in jail and since April, when the group began blocking oil terminals, more than 1,350 arrests have been made. In a statement, the group said: “As the government doubles down on fossil fuel energy by ‘increasing supply’ and reneges on its commitment to fracking, Just Stop Oil supporters will continue to take non-violent direct action to demand the ending this genocide. work of death. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “We accept the consequences of our actions and we don’t need you to feel sorry for us, we need you to step up and join us.”
