Verfassungsblog (Dec 2022)
The Road to Repression
Abstract
On 2 December 2022, the UN Special Rapporteur Freedom of Association sent a remarkable Tweet. “Australia – ”, the Special Rapporteur tweeted, “I am alarmed at #NSW court’s prison term against #ClimateProtester Deanna Coco and refusal to grant bail until a March 2023 appeal hearing. Peaceful protesters should never be criminalised or imprisoned.” The Special Rapporteur was referring to the arrest of Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco to 15 months in prison with a non-parole period of eight months for blocking one of five lanes of traffic on Sydney Harbour Bridge during a climate change protest for 28 minutes.
