A grandmother has walked free after appearing in court for helping to block an oil terminal. Julia Mercer, from Todmorden, West Yorkshire, was one of 51 people arrested at a 'nonviolent blockade' of Kingsbury oil terminal in Warwickshire.
She appeared before Judge Kelly at Queen Elizabeth Court in Birmingham on Friday, September 23 and was released with a suspended prison sentence of 24 days and costs of £426. A retired occupational therapist, Julia joined the ‘Just Stop Oil’ protest, and was accused of breaking the North Warwickshire injunction on September 14 – the private injunction outlawed any protest activity near the oil terminal.
Yorkshire Live reports that Mercer was facing the possibility of two years in custody, but walked free after spending a week on remand. Five defendants were released with suspended sentences on Friday, as were a previous 32 defendants from the Kingsbury blockade appearing at courts in London and Birmingham.
