GOVERNMENT attacks on the right to protest have put the largest number of demonstrators behind bars in generations, campaigners have warned. 

There are at least 54 people currently being held for taking part in protests, according to police monitoring group Netpol. This includes activists serving prison sentences and those remanded in jail awaiting trials. 

The majority of those behind bars are supporters of the Just Stop Oil group, with over 150 activists imprisoned this year for taking part in actions such as blocking oil terminals and major highways in a bid to pressure ministers to halt all new oil and gas projects. 

There are currently 24 supporters of the climate group in jail, with three serving prison sentences who will be spending Christmas behind bars. 

Emily Apple from Netpol said it was “obscene” that activists sounding the alarm on the climate emergency are being sent to jail. 

“It’s a damning indictment that instead of tackling the climate crisis the government is locking up the people trying to do something about it,” she told the Star. “It’s not something we can ignore.

“We’ve not seen this many people in jail for generations and there’s been a real move to say it’s ok to send protesters to prison, especially with the Just Stop Oil protests.

“It’s a real change of climate both in terms of criminalisation and what is acceptable to do to protesters.”

Ms Apple claims that this is the result of the government’s crackdown on the right to protest, both through legislation and “anti-protest rhetoric.”

“For a long time it’s been the case that if you took part — especially in non-violent direct action — the chances of getting a prison sentence were pretty minimal,” she explained. 

However this has changed with legislation like the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which replaced the common law offence of public nuisance with a statutory offence carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years. 

Just Stop Oil activist Jan Goodey became the first person to be convicted of public nuisance under the Act last month, after blocking the M25 by climbing onto gantries. He is one of three activists from the group serving jail sentences. 

The harsher sentence also means public nuisance can be considered a serious offence, making it less likely that people will be granted bail. This year has seen some climate activists wait up to six months in jail before being tried. 

Some climate activists feel the growing numbers of peaceful protesters being sent to jail is due to political pressure. 

Just Stop Oil supporter Larch Maxey told the Star: “It’s interesting the judiciary is increasingly willing to put peaceful protesters in prison for climate action. The politicians are pushing them, goading them on to do that in certain cases.” 

Louis McKechnie, 21, who has been held on remand since July after storming the Formula 1 racetrack at Silverstone, is among those who will be spending Christmas in jail, while he awaits trial in 2023. 

In a defiant letter from jail, Mr McKechnie said he was in “good spirits,” despite finding the first few weeks difficult. 

“Recently we have seen the government come down harder and harder on us,” he wrote. 

“They have been remanding people with no prior convictions and without evidence — it feels like every day I hear another friend has been sent to prison. If this is meant to discourage us it seems to be having the opposite effect.”

The jailed protesters also include people involved in the Kill the Bill demos in Bristol, as well as Black Lives Matter protesters and activists taking action against HS2 and the Israeli arms trade. 

Last week four activists from the Palestine Action group were remanded in custody after occupying a weapons factory in Wales in protest at the firm’s links to Israeli arms giant Elbit Systems. It comes after two Israeli dissidents, who were arrested after taking action with the group, were remanded for a month. 

A spokesperson for Palestine Action told the Star: “The CPS are becoming much more eager to seek remand in custody for activists taking action against Israel’s war machine. 

“While our longest remand was last year – 37 days – bail is being refused more frequently, with the courts just this week refusing the appeal of a Welsh activist who will be kept on remand until January 2023. 

“Despite the denial of bail, despite the increased risks of taking action and despite the constant police harassment of our activists, resistance has never been higher.”

Ms Apple says she expects the number of protesters put behind bars will increase if the Public Order Bill is passed, which contains a range of new protest-related offences carrying custodial sentences. 

Liberty policy and campaigns officer Jun Pang said: “The government’s continued attack on our rights has inevitably led to clampdowns on protest. 
 
“The threat of criminalisation aims to deter all of us from holding power to account, and the significant number of arrests we’ve seen recently shows that already people are being punished for trying to exercise their rights. 

“In a healthy and functioning democracy, everyone must be able to speak out and challenge injustice. The government must ensure everyone’s protest rights are protected.”