The Crown Prosecution Service has dropped charges against 34 protesters at Unilever’s London headquarters, citing insufficient evidence.
London: So, here’s the scoop. Charges against 34 folks who protested outside Unilever’s office have been dropped. They were raising a ruckus about plastic pollution, and it looks like the Crown Prosecution Service decided there just wasn’t enough evidence to move forward with the case.
These protesters were facing some serious charges, including aggravated trespass and a new offense called “locking on.” This was all part of a protest last September where Greenpeace activists blocked the entrances to Unilever’s headquarters. They were really pushing back against the company’s failure to tackle plastic waste.
Will McCallum from Greenpeace UK called it a win for protest rights. He mentioned that these activists were looking at up to 15 years in prison just for standing up to a major plastic polluter. He also pointed out that the “locking on” law is just one of many tools being used to silence peaceful protests.
It’s worth noting that this crackdown on protests isn’t new. The previous government introduced these laws, and now it’s up to the current leadership to change things. Last year, some activists even got hefty prison sentences just for discussing a protest online.
Greenpeace’s protest was part of a larger campaign against Unilever, especially after the company rolled back its plastic reduction goals. During the protest, some climbers even scaled the building and hung up a big piece of art. Others blocked the entrances by locking themselves to models of Dove products, which was quite a sight.
The trials were supposed to kick off on January 15, but now it looks like that won’t happen. Unilever has been asked for a comment, but we’re still waiting to hear back.
