Thirteen defendants who entered a runway at Heathrow Airport to prevent airport expansion today received six-week suspended sentences.
The ‘Heathrow 13′ were found guilty on 25 January 2016 of aggravated trespass and entering a security-restricted area of an aerodrome. Their defence was that their actions were necessary to prevent deaths and serious injury through man-made climate change. They were warned to expect an immediate custodial sentence, but today were sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.
Owen Greenhall and Sebastian Elgueta of Garden Court Chambers represented nine defendants at trial. Michael Turner QC represented the defendants at the sentencing hearing. They were instructed by Mike Schwarz of Bindmans LLP.
The case has received widespread media attention and has been featured in the Guardian, BBC and Independent.
Owen Greenhall and Michael Turner QC are members of the Garden Court Chambers Crime Team.
