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Extinction Rebellion activists guilty over train glue protest | Extinction Rebellion activists guilty over train glue protest |
(32 minutes later) | |
Three Extinction Rebellion activists who glued themselves to a train have been found guilty of obstructing the railway. | Three Extinction Rebellion activists who glued themselves to a train have been found guilty of obstructing the railway. |
Cathy Eastburn, Mark Ovland and Luke Watson were charged after a protest halted Docklands Light Railway services at Canary Wharf station on 17 April. | |
A jury at Inner London Crown Court unanimously found the trio guilty. | |
Judge Silas Reid said most defendants do not come to court "for such noble purposes". | |
Watson, 30, Eastburn, 52, and Ovland, 36, all denied obstructing an engine or carriage using the railway and will be sentenced on Thursday. | |
Jurors convicted the defendants after an hour of deliberations, but the foreman added it was "with regret". | Jurors convicted the defendants after an hour of deliberations, but the foreman added it was "with regret". |
Extinction Rebellion, an activist group whose protesters are urging government action on climate change, said the trial was the first to be dealt with by a crown court as opposed to a magistrates' court. | Extinction Rebellion, an activist group whose protesters are urging government action on climate change, said the trial was the first to be dealt with by a crown court as opposed to a magistrates' court. |
The trio were arrested during two weeks of demonstrations organised by the group, which brought parts of London to a standstill. | The trio were arrested during two weeks of demonstrations organised by the group, which brought parts of London to a standstill. |
Watson, of Manuden in Essex; Eastburn, of St Gerards Close in Lambeth, south London; and Ovland, of Keinton Mandeville in Somerton, Somerset, have been released on unconditional bail. | Watson, of Manuden in Essex; Eastburn, of St Gerards Close in Lambeth, south London; and Ovland, of Keinton Mandeville in Somerton, Somerset, have been released on unconditional bail. |
In her closing speech to the court, Eastburn, who spent a week in prison on remand, compared the action to raising the alarm when your house is on fire. | |
Watson told the court the group warned the relevant authorities of their actions beforehand and had chosen a station that was above ground to avoid unnecessary distress. | |
Judge Reid indicated that a conditional discharge was possible, telling the jury: "I don't see at the moment that there's any possibility of any of these defendants going back to prison." |
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