political prisoners

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

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https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/may/23/anti-protest-sentences-rise-england-wales-political-prisoners

Three Just Stop Oil protesters wearing orange hi-vis jackets speak with police in front of the Houses of Parliament. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

More people are being jailed in England and Wales as a result of acting to prevent climate breakdown and the war in Gaza, research reveals

Britain has created a new breed of political prisoners through the systematic incarceration of people acting to prevent climate breakdown and the annihilation of Gaza, a report claims.

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, which will be launched on Tuesday, 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.

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.

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https://www.theguardian.com/law/2026/may/23/anti-protest-sentences-rise-england-wales-political-prisoners

Keir Starmer says that he's banning words and phrases now as well as placards.
Keir Starmer says that he’s banning words and phrases now as well as placards.
Keir Starmer confirms that he doesn't know anything about democracy.
Keir Starmer confirms that he doesn’t know anything about democracy.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine 'Private Eye'.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
Continue ReadingNew breed of political prisoner arises in Britain as anti-protest sentences rise

Venezuela slams El Salvador over migrant ‘hostages’

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/venezuela-slams-el-salvador-over-migrant-hostages

 El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele waves as he departs following a meeting at the White House with President Donald Trump, April 14, 2025, in Washington

THE Venezuelan government has slammed El Salvador’s far-right President Nayib Bukele for admitting that he was holding 252 Venezuelan migrants as “hostages” in detention centres and demanded their immediate release.

Mr Bukele said on Sunday that he was proposing a prisoner swap with Venezuela.

He said El Salvador would exchange Venezuelan deportees from the United States who have been imprisoned by his government for what he described as “political prisoners” in Venezuela.

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Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab called Mr Bukele’s statements “cynical” and referred to the Salvadoran leader as a “neofascist.”He said Mr Bukele accepted that he was holding “252 Venezuelans hostage in El Salvador.”Mr Saab demanded that the Salvadorean government provide Caracas with a list of the people detained as well as their legal status and medical reports. El Salvador’s actions are “a serious violation of international human rights law and constitutes a crime against humanity that mimics the repugnant Nazi practices of the mid-20th century,” he charged.

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/venezuela-slams-el-salvador-over-migrant-hostages

Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn't bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Donald Fuhrump says that Amerikkka doesn’t bother with crimes or charges anymore, not being 100% Amerikkkan and opposing his real estate intentions is enough.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Continue ReadingVenezuela slams El Salvador over migrant ‘hostages’

Hundreds of activists demand release of political prisoners and removal of ‘extremism adviser’ Lord Walney

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/hundreds-activists-demand-release-political-prisoners-removal-extremism-advise-lord-walney

People outside Southwark Crown Court, south London, in support of Anna Holland and Phoebe Plummer who are due to be sentenced at the court after being found guilty of criminal damage for throwing tinned soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in 2022, September 27, 2024

HUNDREDS of activists held a silent protest outside Southwark Crown Court today to demand the release of political prisoners and the removal of paid lobbyist and “extremism adviser” Lord Walney.

Activists from groups including Just Stop Oil (JSO), Palestine Action and Extinction Rebellion transformed the road into a photographic exhibition of political prisoners around the world.

Campaigners are demanding that Attorney General Richard Hermer agrees to a public meeting to discuss ending the jailing of those taking peaceful action.

Inside the court, Judge Christopher Hehir, who handed five JSO activists prison sentences totalling 21 years in July, jailed another two activists from the group.

Phoebe Plummer received two years and Anna Holland 20 months for throwing soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery.

Twenty-month community orders were also handed to Chiara Sarti and Daniel Hall for slow marching along a west London road for 20 minutes.

Earlier this year, protesters’ rights were eroded when they were stripped of their ability to rely on beliefs and motivation as a defence.

There are currently 41 peaceful protesters locked up in the midst of the prisons crisis, with 20 held on remand and 21 sentenced for a year or more for non-violent protest actions.

Many trials have taken place amid lobbying by “independent adviser” Lord Walney, who has been calling for groups such as Palestine Action and Just Stop Oil to be banned.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/hundreds-activists-demand-release-political-prisoners-removal-extremism-advise-lord-walney

Continue ReadingHundreds of activists demand release of political prisoners and removal of ‘extremism adviser’ Lord Walney