Three protesters were cleared by a UK court of charges arising from a protest at Stonehenge in which the prehistoric stone circle was sprayed with orange powder. The activists from Just Stop Oil had admitted to taking part in the protest, but cited their right to freedoms of speech and protest under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Salisbury Crown Court in southern England found 74-year-old Rajan Naidu, 23-year-old Oxford University student Niamh Lynch, and 36-year-old Luke Watson, not guilty of criminal damage and public nuisance in relation to the June 2024 protest.
Naidu and Lynch had daubed the megalithic standing stones at the UNESCO world heritage site with an orange powder, which did not cause any lasting damage, the day before summer solstice. Footage of the event showed several people trying to restrain the pair as they sprayed the stones with a mix of cornflour, talcum powder and orange dye.
It was part of Just Stop Oil’s prominent campaign—involving numerous provocative stunts such as spraypainting various monuments, aeroplanes, and famous artworks—to urge the UK government to phase out the use of polluting fossil fuels. The climate group ended its protests earlier this year, claiming it had succeeded in its initial aim to stop Britain from approving new oil and gas projects.
Prosecutors said the protest at the site visited by millions of tourists from around Britain and the world was an “act of blatant and clear vandalism.”
“I just want things to be better, I just want things to be fair and right,” Lynch said after the jury’s verdict. Watson said he was “glad” about the decision, but felt like their trial over “the last two weeks” was “a complete waste of public money.”
The trio’s defence lawyer Francesca Cociani claimed:
It is a relief that the jury has decided to uphold the right to peaceful protest… It is a right that has long been, and should remain, an essential pillar of our democratic society but we are seeing time and time again that this right is being eroded.
Critics of the group oppose its lenient special treatment within the UK criminal justice system.
