AN EXTINCTION Rebellion protester from Somerset who glued himself to a pane of glass inside a courtroom has been given a seven-day prison sentence for contempt of court.
Arainn Hawker, 49, was charged with wilfully obstructing a highway during a large demonstration at Oxford Circus in October 2019.
During his trial at City of London Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, Hawker glued his hand to a pane of glass surrounding the dock before recording the court on his phone.
In the livestream shared on social media, Hawker told his trial: “The courts are in contempt of human rights and civil justice.
“I believe the courts have completely failed to come up with an adequate response to the climate and ecological emergency from the magistrates not accepting the legal defence of necessity right through to the CPS prosecuting,” he added.
Deputy District Judge Stuart Miller gave Hawker a seven-day prison sentence for contempt of court, and his phone was confiscated, staff said.
Hawker, of Thorney, Somerset, was also given a conditional discharge for nine months for his original wilful obstruction offence.
Riz Choudhry, 40, part of Extinction Rebellion’s arrestee welfare team, was in court during the incident.
He told the PA news agency: “He did a lock on, he attached himself to the window and started to livestream the issues that are happening.
“During this time of crisis where we should be travelling as little as possible, they are making people travel from outside of London for trials.”
Mr Choudhry said Hawker was glued to the window for around half an hour before he was able to remove himself.
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