The high court in London saw two simultaneous unrelated protests in February.
Outside (20 – 21 February), people gathered in solidarity with Julian Assange as lawyers tried to get a further appeal for him.
Inside (21 February), Defend Our Juries organised a 100-person sit-down in the lobby or central hall of the court. There were three separate Citizens’ Juries, considering different questions, including: ‘Why not trust juries to hear the full story?’
Climate activists have been alerting juries to their right to reach their own verdicts, regardless of judges’ instructions. They have faced arrest and prosecution as a result. Defend Our Juries has been protesting against this repression.
A third event in the same building on 21 February was a hearing on whether activists in Britain can continue to argue ‘consent’ as a legal defence for property damage.
Two of the Colston Four, for example, argued that the statue of slave-trader Edward Colston belonged to the people of Bristol, and the people of Bristol would have consented to their removal of the statue, if they had known all the circumstances.
On 19 March, the court of appeal removed the ‘consent’ defence for climate protesters.