Trial of Extinction Rebellion women who broke HSBC HQ windows in Canary Wharf starts
The trial of nine Extinction Rebellion women accused of causing over half a million pounds of damage at the HSBC HQ in Canary Wharf protesting the company’s position on climate change began this week
The trial of nine women from Extinction Rebellion accused of causing over half a million pounds of criminal damage by breaking windows at HSBC HQ in Canary Wharf in protests of the company’s position on climate change began Monday at Southwark Crown Court.
The protest took place at the HSBC HQ in Canary Wharf in April 2021.
On Monday the jury trial began at Southwark Crown Court.
The nine women standing trial are Jessica Agar, Blyth Brentnall, Valerie Brown, Eleanor (Gully) Bujak, Clare Farrell, Miriam Instone, Tracey Mallaghan, Susan Reid, and Samantha Smithson. Their ages range from 23 to 71 years old.
All have pleaded not-guilty. If found guilty they could face a maxim sentence of up to four years in prison.
They are standing trial for causing over half a million in damages at the HSBC HQ when they broke windows during a protest.
The nine women wore patches reading ‘better broken windows than broken promises’. Then placed stickers on the windows of the bank reading ‘£80 billion into fossil fuels in the last 5 years’. They then broke the glass windows with hammers and chisels.
Afterwards, they sat down and waited for the police to arrest them.
They staged the action in protest of HSBC’s activities and investments that contribute to climate change.
This style of protest is part of Extinction Rebellions’ belief in using public acts of non-violent civil disobedience.
Extinction Rebellion modelled their protest at HSBC HQ in Canary Wharf on suffragettes’ protests. The suffragettes staged several window-breaking campaigns and used the phrase ‘better broken windows than broken promises’.
In addition to this HSBC HQ protest by Extinction Rebellion in Canary Wharf. Their members were arrested during protests at Canary Wharf DLR station in April 2019 and Barclays HQ in April 2021.
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