Quaker grandmother’s prison recall sparks rights concerns
On Human Rights Day, concerns over the erosion of fundamental freedoms were highlighted by the recall to prison of a 77-year-old Quaker grandmother.
Bristol Quaker Gaie Delap, jailed for a climate protest on the M25 in 2022, was released on home detention in November.
But she was ordered to return to HMP Peterborough for the remaining 4.5 months of her sentence after authorities failed to fit an electronic tag due to its size.
Oliver Robertson, Head of Witness and Worship for Quakers in Britain, said: “We would be grateful if Prisons Minister James Timpson would intervene to find a commonsense solution that keeps this nonviolent citizen out of our overcrowded prisons."
Fears over protest laws
This case underscores fears about the impact of increasingly strict protest laws on human rights.
A recent University of Bristol study found that Britain leads the world in cracking down on climate activism.
Delap is among dozens of Quakers prosecuted for trying to draw attention to the climate emergency since the Police, Crime and Sentencing Act was passed in April 2022.
Quakers have a long and celebrated history of undertaking nonviolent action against injustice, from the abolition of slavery to women's suffrage and prison reform.
But they warn that increasingly draconian legislation is making this work more and more difficult.
Oliver Robertson said: “Hearing this news on Human Rights Day reminds us that human rights are not abstract principles or legal instruments—they touch every one of us, every day.
“Quakers believe there is that of God in everyone, and if this is so, then conscience should not be coerced. Freedom of speech, assembly, fair trials are essential.
“Gaie and others act from a deep moral imperative, and Quakers will continue to oppose laws that silence peaceful protest and violate human rights."
Quakers added to Prison and Court Register
This weekend the Quaker national representative body, Meeting for Sufferings (MfS), added two more Quakers to their historic Prison and Court Register, for nonviolent climate protest.
- Viv Shah of Leicester Quaker Meeting. Fined and handed two-year suspended sentence for blocking the entrance of Kingsbury Oil Terminal.
- Pasha Bell of Exeter Quaker Meeting. Sentenced to 22 months for Just Stop Oil protest.
Leeds Quakers also raised concerns after five members were arrested en route to a peaceful protest at Drax Power Station, the world's biggest woody biomass power station, and the UK's single largest carbon emitter.
Leeds Quakers said they were concerned about the way the right to protest was being quashed.
“Vehicles were impounded and intimidatory tactics were used to frighten them in the hours of darkness," they told MfS.
Quakers are calling for the repeal of laws like the Public Order Act 2023, urging parliament to uphold fundamental freedoms at home and abroad and to protect and champion the Human Rights Act.