…But here is where the really nightmarish situation begins. The judge, Mr Justice Johnson, had already decided that he would add a ‘terrorist connection’ to their sentences. He did this secretly, before the verdict and the jury was never told this was being considered. The defence was never given the opportunity to address it. The conviction came down on criminal damage charges. And then the judge, alone, unilaterally, declared that these young people are terrorists.

I did my research and found out this has never happened before in British legal history. Direct action protesters have never been treated this way. Criminal damage has never been considered a terrorist offence. The barrister for the defence, Rajiv Menon KC, called it ‘chilling and creeping authoritarianism’.

He is not wrong…

Crosspost from https://lemmygrad.ml/post/11929891