The Government recently lost a legal case brought by Liberty, confirming that our hard-won democratic rights to protest and assemble cannot simply be snatched away. Lowering the threshold at which police can intervene to hamper or shutdown protest is an unjustified attack on all our rights, shrinks the space available for dissent and shows a State lurching dangerously towards authoritarianism and repression. 'Serious disruption' cannot simply encompass anything and everything characterised as 'more than minor.'

Suella Braverman oversaw this hastily implemented secondary legislation without full parliamentary scrutiny -but Labour have persevered with it. Now they must review all arrests and prosecutions made under the legislation with a view to repealing the Public Order Act in its entirety. Quakers in Britain, who recently felt the brunt of the Met Police breaking down the front door at Westminster Meeting House, armed with tasers are also calling for repeal of the Public Order Act and parts of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.

We, the signatories to this petition, are calling for the release of all peaceful political prisoners incarcerated in the UK -but especially with the recent ruling, those sentenced under the Public Order Act. They are not a threat to the public, but are peaceful, non-violent, kind and caring people -and its precisely because of these qualities -and their conscience that they have taken defensive action and in the case of JSO garnered the recognition of Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders. We call for immediate release of all people who took action with Just Stop Oil to halt new licenses for the fossil fuels leading to climate catastrophe and potentially signing civilisation's death warrant. We call for immediate release of all who got in the way of the war machine with Palestine Action, to help stop the far greater moral crimes of genocide and war crimes by thwarting British arms manufacturers supplying Israel with the parts for jets or other arms, with which to commit their heinous crimes in Gaza. 

Henry David Thoreau stated that "in an unjust society, the place for a just man is in prison" but we do not need to live in an unjust society -one step we can take as citizens, concerned human beings and rights protectors is sign this petition pressuring the UK government to free the prisoners of conscience. If you are the government or an establishment decision-maker, it is never too late to do the right thing and a good thing -demonstrate British and universal values of tolerance, pluralism, understanding, mercy, dialogue and use all powers at your disposal to secure their release.

Another thing you can do is to sign the petition calling on the Government to repeal the Public Order Act:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/715427

Thank you for your support!