Climate activist jailed for mentioning climate crisis

10 February 2023

The Guardian  7 February 2023    Damien Gayle

An Insulate Britain activist has been jailed for eight weeks for contempt of court after disobeying a judge’s instruction not to mention the climate crisis as his motivation during his trial for taking part in a road-blocking protest.

David Nixon, 36, a care worker from Barnsley, was sentenced at Inner London crown court on Tuesday after admitting contempt of court the day before by using his closing address to begin telling a jury about his reasons for protesting.

After refusing twice to apologise for defying the judge's instruction, Nixon was sentenced to eight weeks in prison for contempt of court.

He said. “I don’t mean to disrespect the court, or maybe I do mean to disrespect the court because the court is disrespecting itself. It’s not upholding what it is there to uphold.”

A spokesperson for Insulate Britain said locking people up for “telling the truth in court” was the “mark of an extreme authoritarian regime”.

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One can't help wondering whether it isn't the judge who should be penalised for bringing the judicial system into disrepute, rather than a climate protester jailed for mentioning the climate crisis.