“Deanna "Violet" Coco was last year handed a 15-month sentence with a non-parole period of eight months by a magistrate in the Local Court …
“During a successful appeal, District Court Judge Mark Williams today rejected the Crown's suggestion Ms Coco was a "danger to the community" due to her record of protest actions.
“He set aside the sentence and placed Ms Coco on a 12-month conditional release order, while convictions for two of her charges will remain.”
"Police have backtracked on their claim that a climate protest on the Sydney Harbour Bridge last year blocked an ambulance with its sirens running from responding to an emergency, an assertion repeatedly referred to in the jail sentence of demonstrator Deanna “Violet” Coco.
"On Tuesday Alan Glover and Karen Fitzgibbon, two of the four people co-accused of blocking the bridge during a climate protest last April, appeared before the Downing Centre local court for sentencing over the protest.
"Magistrate Daniel Reiss sentenced each of them to an 18-month community corrections order and a $3,000 fine over the protest.
"But agreed facts tendered as part of the case revealed that the New South Wales police now concede that “no ambulance was obstructed from responding to an emergency as a result of the incident” during the April protest …
"The ambulance was directly cited by magistrate Allison Hawkins in sentencing Coco to a 15-month prison sentence last December.
"During her sentencing, both the prosecutor and Hawkins repeatedly cited the ambulance in reference to the seriousness of the offence."
#VioletCoco #ClimateProtest #ClimateChange #Sydney
Previous thread:
https://aus.social/@jimrhiz/109544536653759348
Senator @davidshoebridge will introduce a bill into Federal parliament which if passed would enshrine the right of peaceful assembly, overturning harsh laws in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
UNSW law professor George Williams advises that the external affairs power in the Australian constitution allows laws to ensure conformance with international treaties and conventions.
#auspol #VioletCoco #ClimateCrisis
#Climate activist Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco reveals why she was prepared to risk jail time https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/14/climate-activist-deanna-violet-coco-reveals-why-she-was-prepared-to-risk-jail-time?CMP=share_btn_tw
#auspol #VioletCoco #ClimateCrisis
#Climate activist Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco freed from prison while she appeals 15-month jail sentence https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/13/climate-activist-deanna-violet-coco-freed-from-prison-while-she-appeals-15-month-jail-sentence?CMP=share_btn_tw
"A climate activist jailed for 15-months after a protest on the Sydney Harbour Bridge has been released from jail after a judge approved her bail appeal.
"District court judge Timothy Gartelmann on Tuesday granted bail to 32-year-old Deanna “Violet” Coco, who was handed a 15-month jail sentence with a non-parole period of eight months earlier in December.
"“I am not satisfied the applicant would represent an unacceptable risk of endangering the community,” Gartlemann said."
♁ 🌍🌏🌎 Udo Baumgartner (⧖)😷
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