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

Lead

LONDON — A new report warns that Britain is undergoing a “deeply troubling transformation” in how it treats political protest, as climate activists and pro-Palestine campaigners increasingly face lengthy prison sentences, sweeping legal restrictions, and months in jail before trial.

According to research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the campaign group Defend Our Juries, the UK has “witnessed an increase in anti-protest powers granted to the police and the courts through legislation” that has “created a significantly more repressive legal terrain for activists engaging in civil disobedience and direct action.”

Coverage Comparison

The report, titled Britain’s Political Prisoners, was covered by both Al Jazeera and The Guardian. Al Jazeera's reporting emphasizes the government's legislative crackdown, detailing changes to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023, and highlights the role of corporate lobbying. The Guardian’s coverage focuses on the human impact, citing specific figures for the number of activists imprisoned and the lengths of their sentences. Both outlets are critical of the government's approach, but The Guardian goes further by using the term “political prisoners,” a characterization that Al Jazeera does not explicitly employ.

Key Claims

• The researchers identified 286 cases involving climate and Palestine-solidarity activists who were sent to prison for protest, with a total of 136 years of jail time. This claim is reported by a single source (The Guardian) and has not been independently verified.
• 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.
• Contempt of court proceedings account for 40% of cases of imprisonment, with 8% arising from a defendant's conduct in the courtroom and 32% from breaching a civil injunction obtained by a private company or public authority.
• The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 transformed the old common law offence of “public nuisance” into a formal criminal offence carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
• The Public Order Act 2023 introduced protest-specific offences, including “locking on” and tunnelling, and widened police powers to restrict even single-person protests deemed disruptive.
• The use of civil injunctions and contempt proceedings has increased, with oil companies, arms manufacturers, councils, and universities obtaining court orders banning protests near their sites.
• The growing use of lengthy pretrial detention has led to protesters being held in prison before conviction, with some spending months or even over a year on remand awaiting trial.

Perspectives

The report's authors argue that the legal changes and judicial practices are creating a “new breed of political prisoners.” David Whyte, co-author and professor of climate justice at QMUL, said: “These are exceptional sentences that are being used to apply to protests which are themselves profoundly political.” He added that extreme sentences and remand detentions are being used specifically against those involved in civil disobedience and direct action.

The report also claims that corporate lobbying, including from the oil and arms industries, has influenced the crackdown. Judges have increasingly removed legal defences and imposed what the report describes as “exceptionally long” sentences.

Context and Reactions

The report traces the shift from earlier crackdowns on Extinction Rebellion, Black Lives Matter, Insulate Britain, and Just Stop Oil to more recent prosecutions linked to Palestine solidarity actions, including campaigns targeting British factories operated by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer.

The UK government has not yet responded to the report. However, supporters of the legislation argue that the measures are necessary to prevent disruption to public life and protect public safety. When the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act was debated, ministers emphasized the need to tackle “guerrilla tactics” used by protesters that cause serious disruption.

As of this writing, the report's authors say it is the first analysis of the jailing of “Britain’s new political prisoners,” and they call for a reassessment of how protest is treated under the law.