"Labour must end criminalisation of climate protesters", 18 July 2024

...For the past decade, Global Witness has documented abuses and killings of environmental defenders around the world. 

Until now, most of our attention has focused on people speaking up against powerful interests in Global South countries, where a defender is killed every other day for protecting their land and environment.

But as the climate crisis jeopardises communities and lives around the world, activists are finding themselves demonised, threatened, and even jailed much closer to home. 

Now, the UK is becoming one of the most dangerous countries in the western world to speak up in defence of our planet.

...More than 7,000 climate protesters have been arrested in the UK since 2019, according to data from the Metropolitan Police. 

Nearly 900 people have been arrested for “slow marching” alone since it was made an explicit offence last year...