A Sydney climate protester who was jailed for blocking peak-hour traffic on the Harbour Bridge has had her sentence overturned.
Deanna “Violet” Maree Coco was handed a 15-month sentence in December for her role in a Sydney protest that led to morning peak-hour traffic disruptions in April.
The 32-year-old was part of a protest with fellow activist Alan Russell Glover, when both climbed on to the roof of a truck parked in the bridge’s southbound Cahill Expressway lane to raise awareness of climate change.
The pair lit a flare and live-streamed their half-hour protest, which was part of action by the group Fireproof Australia.
Ms Coco was initially sentenced at Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court to a non-parole period of eight months, expiring on July 31, 2023, for breaching traffic laws by blocking traffic, possessing a flare in a public place and resisting police orders.
She was also fined $2500 for lighting the flare.
She appealed the sentence and in a hearing on Wednesday, District Court Judge Mark Williams rejected the Crown’s suggestion Ms Coco was a “danger to the community” due to her record of protest actions.
He set aside the jail term and placed Ms Coco on a 12-month conditional release order. Convictions for two of her charges will remain.
Ms Coco’s convictions came after the NSW government passed laws to punish disruptive climate protests in 2022. Activists face fines of up to $22,000 and two years in prison – she was the first person sentenced to jail under the new laws.
Human rights groups had labelled her sentence vindictive legal action that restricted the right to peaceful protest.
-with agencies
