A U.K. judge handed down shockingly harsh sentences to peaceful climate activists, sparking outrage and disbelief. Is this justice or suppression of dissent?
Interesting… so what are your thoughts on the practice of Kettling then? Police have used this tactic on protests that were properly permitted but may run afoul of the incumbent parties views.
Using your logic this seems like it is just a small inconvenience for the protesters.
Awwh, you think being detained by cops is the same thing as road closures? Next time they start doing construction are you gonna file kidnapping charges? XD
It was a simple question which you’ve decided to not answer and instead make a snide remark.
So I’ll ask it again what are your feelings on the practice of Kettling? It seems like if you’re ok with being illegally detained by protesters, you would be just as ok with being illegally detained by police?
Pretty simple leading question, of course. If you want to equate police malfeasance with protesters who dare cause any sort of disturbance to the status quo, then that sounds like a "you" problem.
I see, so when police violate an individual’s rights it’s malfeasance on their part. Yet when protesters that you happen to agree with violate those rights in a shockingly similar manner, it’s a disturbance and the individual should “get over it” and it’s their problem.
It was indeed a very simple question which you tried to side step. You seem to understand how an individual who doesn’t have a stake in your cause could feel victimized by actions that directly affect their safety and liberty. But you and the protesters don’t care about those particular victims, you want just the attention.
It is disingenuous to conflate a generic traffic jam that happens naturally, with intentionally blocking traffic and conspiring to detain people for the purpose of publicity.
There's no such thing as a "traffic jam that happens naturally", they all have causes, ranging from individuals directly responsible for collisions to failures of design and implementation that cause congestion during normal use by daily commuters.
If they all get a pass for "causing traffic" then why are you singling out protesters as an exception?
“doesn't require prosecutors to demonstrate intent or malice aforethought.”
The protesters displayed all of the traits you mentioned. By conspiring and planning to commit unlawful actions. The protesters displayed intent to break the law detain/disrupt the travel of innocent bystanders (illegal in itself) and potentially endangering their lives in the process (super duper illegal).
Highway engineers can be charged with manslaughter if they display willful ignorance, intent to break the law or have demonstrated that they were deceitful in acquiring a position they were not accredited for. Generally speaking that is very hard to prove in court especially when dealing with a large corporation with legions of lawyers to back them up. Hence why it is rare.
It is not so hard to prove with a dozen or so activists who have a history of such actions which are wildly unpopular and illegal. Hence why they are charged.
But there are examples such as the recent Boeing 737 Max disasters where criminal culpability for engineers and managers have been proven. I’d argue the punishment or rather the settlement isn’t enough in this particular case, but that wasn’t your question. Your question was why aren’t they charged.