Protestors who staged silent placard-holding demonstrations outside courts around the country, including in the North East, have hailed it as, “a victory for people power”.
Co-ordinated vigils took place outside criminal courts in response to the decision to prosecute a grandmother for holding a sign outside a London court, claiming that jurors have the right to acquit a defendant according to their conscience.
The court was dealing with the cases of climate protestors who had staged disruptive demonstrations in the capital.
Trudi Warner, 68-year-old retired social worker from Walthamstow, east London, faces a potential prison sentence if convicted of contempt of court.
In the case she was referring to, it was said the protestors were told not to mention their reason for obstructing traffic and the jury was told not to take the protestors' motivation into account.
That was said to be the motivation for her decision to remind the general public of what she described as, “a jury’s legal right.”
The Defend Our Juries campaign group said that 252 members of the public replicated her action outside courts from Truro to Carlisle, and from Swansea to the Old Bailey, in London.
Read more: More than 250 climate activists protest with signs to jurors outside courts
Describing it as, “a victory for people power”, it was said to be a reassertion of the right to freedom of expression.
No arrests were made at any of the vigils, which the group said cleared the path to others to replicate in future.
One such group Grandparent Climate Action Durham, which leaflets in the Market Place each Friday lunchtime, supported Ms Warner’s action by copying her placard and standing in support outside the city’s crown court, in Old Elvet.
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Group member Dr Paul Shepherd said: “The right to protest is a fundamental right in a democracy, and current attacks on that right are deeply disturbing.”
Paul Powlesland, a practising barrister and a member of the Bar Council, said the decision to prosecute Ms Warner, “will have a chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression everywhere”.
The Attorney General’s Office said last week it was moving forward with legal proceedings against Ms Warner, who could face a maximum penalty of two years in prison or a fine if convicted of contempt of court.
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