Trainee rabbi loses appeal for eco-protest
A TRAINEE rabbi who glued herself to the security turnstiles of a building used by a coal mining company as part of an Extinction Rebellion protest has seen her conviction for criminal damage upheld.
An appeal by Shulamit Morris Evans, 24, and a fellow protester, Angela Ditchfield, 42, was thrown out by a judge on Monday.
The pair launched the three-hour action during Global Coal Management’s annual general meeting in central London on 28 December 2018.
Police were able to detach the protesters from the turnstiles, but there was a £2,152 clean-up bill.
Ms Morris-Evans, who is a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion Jews, and Ms Ditchfield said they were motivated to carry out the protest by GCM’s plans to dig a coal mine in Bangladesh, which they said would cause loss of life and
She said that their actions did not meet the definition of ‘criminal’
contribute to the climate crisis. The pair were convicted of criminal damage, given conditional discharges and ordered to pay court costs and victim surcharges totalling £370 each at City of London Magistrates’ Court in October 2019.
But they appealed against their convictions at Southwark Crown Court on the grounds that they had not intended to cause the damage.
They argued the damage they caused did not meet the legal definition of “criminal”. However, a judge said their appeal was based upon a “fundamental misconception” of the law.