Key Points
- In April, Deanna 'Violet' Coco was involved in a disruptive climate protest on Sydney Harbour Bridge.
- On Friday, she was sentenced to a 15-month jail term with a non-parole period of eight months.
- It comes after tough new laws were introduced in NSW earlier this year.
Activists and advocates have rallied around climate protester Violet Coco, who will spend at least eight months in jail for her role in a disruptive protest on Sydney Harbour Bridge.
It comes after tough new laws were introduced in NSW earlier this year in a crackdown on protests causing inconvenience.
Coco's supporters and lawyers say her punishment is disproportionate, but NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said he supported it.
So why was she jailed for at least eight months, what are the rules around protesting in NSW, and what has the reaction been?
Who is Violet Coco and what did she do?
In April, Deanna 'Violet' Coco was part of a two-vehicle convoy that parked on Sydney Harbour Bridge to raise awareness of climate change.
The vehicles blocked a city-bound lane of peak-hour traffic for about 25 minutes.
In the Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, Coco pleaded guilty to seven charges and was fined $2500 for lighting a flare while standing on top of a truck parked on the bridge.
She was sentenced to a non-parole period of eight months, expiring in July, for breaching traffic laws by blocking traffic, possessing an orange flare in a public place and resisting police after being asked to move on.
Her full prison sentence stretches to 24 February 2024.
Why was she jailed for up to 15 months?
Earlier this year, the NSW government passed new laws concerning disruptive climate protests, with activists facing fines of up to $22,000 and two years in prison.
Luke McNamara, a professor at the University of New South Wales and co-director at the Centre for Crime, Law and Justice, told SBS News governments were becoming increasingly intolerant of disruptive protests.
"The focus was on making available more serious penalties in relation to a particular mode of protest, which involves climbing bridges, for example, or attaching oneself to particular facilities with a view to causing visibility and disruption," he said.
"And of course, visibility and disruption have long been the hallmarks of effective nonviolent protest."
Professor McNamara said he believes disruption and protest need to go hand in hand in order to result in tangible change.
"There's an inherent contradiction in governments telling protesters what are acceptable, passive, non-disruptive means of engaging in protests, when the evidence may well be that those methods have been attempted and have proven to be ineffective," he said.
"We need to recognise that disruption and protest go hand in hand ... it's not realistic to on the one hand, support the so-called 'right to protest', and on the other hand, expect the protest has no disruptive effects. ... the two go together."
What did the NSW premier say?
On Monday, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet told reporters he believes activists who cause disruption should "have the book thrown at them".
Climate activist Violet Cocowas sentenced to 15 months in jail for taking part in a blockade of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi
"We want people to be able to protest but you should do it in a way that doesn't inconvenience people right across NSW ... those protests literally started to grind our city to a halt."
Alarm from UN at prison term
Clément Voule, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly at the United Nations, said he was alarmed at the prison term.
"Peaceful protesters should never be criminalised or imprisoned," he wrote on Twitter.
What are her supporters saying?
Following the sentencing, Human Rights Watch researcher Sophie McNeil described the punishment as disproportionate.
"It's clear climate protesters are being targeted for disproportionate punishment."
On Monday afternoon, fellow climate protesters and supporters of Coco rallied in Sydney, Canberra, Perth, Brisbane and Hobart.
The protesters included members of climate action groups Extinction Rebellion, the Knitting Nannas and Fireproof Australia, of which Coco is a member.
Coco's co-accused Jay Larbalestier spoke at the protest, saying Coco had put her life and studies on hold to focus on activism and was motivated by a desire to "protect the community".
"Violet's actions were anything but selfish. That deep desire to protect the community was motivating Violet that day," he said.
"This is someone who since 2018 has put their studies and their life on hold in order to fight for a safe future for everyone."
Coco's lawyer Mark Davis told AAP his client intends to appeal against the decision and apply for bail next week.
