Just Stop Oil activists cleared over Stonehenge protest
Three Just Stop Oil activists who sprayed orange dust at Stonehenge have been cleared of public nuisance.
Rajan Naidu, 74, Oxford University student Niamh Lynch, 23, and Luke Watson, 36, were acquitted after a trial. 10-day trial at Salisbury Crown Court.
They denied all charges of damaging a protected ancient monument and causing public nuisance. targeting Stonehenge as part of the direct action group’s ongoing fossil fuel protest.
The trio, who agreed to take part in the protest, claimed “reasonable excuse” in their defense and their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of protest under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Ms Naidu, Ms Lynch and Mr Watson were accused of using two colored sprayers filled with cornmeal, talc and orange paint to spray paint the monument. Protest on June 19, 2024.
The court was told the trio targeted Stonehenge last year on the day before the summer solstice, when around 15,000 people were due to gather and celebrate.
Mr Watson had purchased the equipment used in the attack and He borrowed his grandmother’s gas car that morning to take the other defendants to Stonehenge.
The defendants argued that this was a “peaceful protest”, that there was “no significant interference” with the rights of others, and that care was taken in choosing the type of gunpowder to be used.
It was stated that there was no permanent damage to the stones and that protests about fossil fuels were a legitimate cause.
