Climate activists Violet Coco and Brad Homewood were sentenced to jail for two months on March 19 for taking direct action to highlight the plight of the planet.
Coco, Homewood聽and another Extinction Rebellion activist, 68-year-old Joseph Zammit, blocked three lanes of a five-lane highway on the West Gate Bridge, Melbourne/Naarm on March 5, with a large truck adorned with 鈥淏usiness as usual = death sentence鈥 and 鈥淐limate breakdown has begun鈥.
The protesters had deliberately left two lanes free for emergencies. However, Victoria Police closed them off.
The action was timed to coincide with the second day of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting.
Coco, Homewood聽and Zammit鈥檚 banner reflected NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus鈥檚 call to halt all burning of fossil fuels.
made it clear the draconian sentence was to deter other activists.
鈥淓ach of you deliberately and flagrantly broke the law 鈥 A message must be sent to like-minded people not to engage in this type of illegality.鈥
Such a harsh sentence shows that the judicial system under capitalism聽is not politically neutral.
Laws are made by the rich and powerful, and the courts rule on their behalf: judges and magistrates belittle, fine and jail activists challenging the rule of the billionaire class.
Coco, Homewood聽and Zammit are not criminals: they are among the many taking action as a warning about how to avert a climate collapse.
The real criminals are the fossil fuel companies and the political parties that back them.
Predictably聽the establishment media, including Sky News and the Herald Sun, ran beat-ups聽about criminals blocking聽roads, omitting to mention the police had closed聽two lanes.
After hearing from Ambulance Victoria that a pregnant woman had to give birth on the side of the road, Coco said she was 鈥渄eeply sorry鈥. She said the activists had planned their action in the knowledge that with hospitals on either side of the bridge, and with two lanes clear, there would not be an emergency.
Outside court, Coco held a sign saying 鈥渘o new coal, oil or gas鈥.
Demonstrating聽solidarity with the Palestinian resistance, Coco and Homewood wore their keffiyehs at the action and in court.
Zammit was granted bail and will return to court in late April.
Civil liberties groups including Liberty Victoria, Environmental Justice Australia, Amnesty International Australia, Pax Christi, Australian Democracy Network and Melbourne Activist Legal Support have called on聽Labor to ensure that the right to protest is respected.
Victorian police minister Anthony Carbines labelled the protestors 鈥渋diots鈥 and lied about them blocking all the lanes.
Draconian anti protest laws aimed at criminalising climate activists help divert attention from the crime of making climate change worse.
Labor is busy approving聽聽and more than聽.聽It still subsidises fossil fuel companies more than $21,000 every minute of every day.
Labor will only be stopped by much stronger climate movement, in which protesters taking direct action for the planet, are defended.
[Solidarity emails can be sent to Violet CoCo and Brad Homewood at聽XRVicPrisonSupport@protonmail.com.]