Violet Coco will be held without bail until an appeal in March or longer, for defending her own and the planet's future.
Human rights and civil liberties advocates criticised the "vindictive legal action" and recent NSW anti-protest laws that allowed it.
#VioletCoco #FireproofAustralia #ClimateProtest #ClimateChange #Sydney
Clément Voule, UN special rapporteur on freedom of association and peaceful assembly, said "I am alarmed at a NSW court’s prison term against climate protestor Deanna [Violet] Coco and refusal to grant bail until a March 2023 appeal hearing. Peaceful protesters should never be criminalised or imprisoned."
#VioletCoco #FireproofAustralia #ClimateProtest #ClimateChange #Sydney
"… activists linked to the climate group Blockade Australia have been charged under the laws, which introduced a two-year jail sentence for protests that block major roads, bridges or tunnels …
"The use of the new anti-protest laws – passed by the Coalition government in April with the backing of the Labor opposition – have been subject to intense criticism since Coco’s jail sentence.
"After her sentencing on Friday a senior UN official said he was “alarmed” by the sentence, while the head of Unions NSW, Mark Morey, called it “wildly excessive”."
#BlockadeAustralia #VioletCoco #ClimateProtest #ClimateChange #Sydney
"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."
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.
Jim Richardson
Frank