An appeal has been launched to help Jan Goodey, the recently imprisoned university lecturer and contributor ecologistas well as his legal fees and living expenses during the current recession.
The 57-year-old climate activist will spend Christmas in a prison cell for disrupting traffic on the M25 as part of the Just Stop Oil (JSO) campaign earlier last month.Supporters are already in JustGiving website.
Jan was convicted after he climbed onto a gantry at Junction 16, causing traffic to stop. It is part of a wave of action by the JSO to force politicians to cancel all new oil and gas contracts to mitigate climate impacts.
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Activists see Jane’s imprisonment as a major erosion of civil liberties. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill, passed in Parliament in April, is seen by activists as a major attack on the right to protest.
The new law allows police to impose conditions on public processions, public gatherings and individual protests if there is reason to believe the noise produced may “significantly disrupt the activities of an organisation”.
The district court said it wanted to use Jan’s sentence to stop people from further disrupting their “legitimate business,” JSO reported.
“Jan took this drastic action to raise public awareness of the climate crisis. He is now without freedom and his family will spend Christmas without him.
Claire Brooke, who set up the JustGiving appeal, said: “Please send your support and solidarity to Jane and his family at this very difficult time.”
The fundraising campaign has gained public support and has raised £1,700 towards the £2,500 target.Activists have set up a call JustGiving website.
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Yasmin Dahnoun is Assistant Editor ecologist.
