A Pembrokeshire climate change protester has been sentenced for causing criminal damage to the Brazilian Embassy in London as part of an Extinction Rebellion (XR) protest.

Retired head teacher Sian Vaughan was found guilty following a trial at Southwark Crown Court in December.

The damage was caused during demonstrations at the Embassy in 2019.

Sian attached herself to the embassy using superglue, and used red paint on a window in a protest to highlight the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the abuse of indigenous peoples’ rights.

Western Telegraph: Sian Vaughan outside Southward Crown Court where she was sentenced for criminal damage to the Brazillian Embassy. Sian Vaughan outside Southward Crown Court where she was sentenced for criminal damage to the Brazillian Embassy. (Image: Sian Vaughan)

Brazil’s then president Jair Bolsonaro, 66, was accused of slashing environmental protection programmes, and pushing to open indigenous reservations and other protected lands to agribusiness and mining.

Sian was initially supposed to go to trial in 2021 but Covid complications meant that her co-accused were tried and found guilty without her, leaving her to stand trial alone. The protesters had repeatedly asked to be tried together to have less impact on court resources.

Western Telegraph: Sian, from Fishguard, superglued herself to the embassy as part of the protest. Sian, from Fishguard, superglued herself to the embassy as part of the protest. (Image: XR)

She has been sentenced to 100 hours community service and ordered to pay in £1,000 fines and costs as well as a victim surcharge.

Despite this she has no regrets.

“I stand by what we did at the Brazilian Embassy,” she told the Western Telegraph. “The situation was dire, and we had a reasonable chance of making a difference.

“In fact, together with other activists around the world, we succeeded in pressurising governments and businesses to speak up and, ten days after our action, Brazilian troops were sent to put out fires in the rainforest and then the setting of fires was banned. “Things were still bad but there was a significant reduction in harm, at least until the pandemic hit.”

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Sian said that she took part in the protest and willingly took responsibility for what she and her co-defendants did, knowing that arrest and the court process would follow. She says that she is surprised by the resources that the Crown Prosecution Service ‘threw at the case’ and says that other cases were dropped by it due to the pandemic, but not XR cases.

In both trials there was a senior prosecution barrister, a junior barrister (believed to be unusual for this level of case), as well as Sian’s barrister, the judge, the clerk, the usher, the security person in the dock, the jury and the police officer in charge. “I knew, of course, that our case would involve taking up some court time and some public expense, but that was not my aim,” she said.

“I am still surprised at the level of resources the CPS threw at the case of a middle aged woman from Pembrokeshire painting on a window back in 2019.”

She added that, although her sentence was quite severe for a first-time protest offence, it could have been worse.

“Sentences for climate protestors have got harsher and harsher over time,” she said. “So I was relieved at my sentence.”

Western Telegraph: The protest at the Brazillian Embassy in 2019. The protest at the Brazillian Embassy in 2019. (Image: XR)

Sian is involved in climate and nature work in the local community, through Transition Bro Gwaun and the West Wales Climate Coalition and, despite the prosecution, continues to be active in Extinction Rebellion.

“At the moment I’m helping local XR efforts to get organised for The Big One in London starting April 21,” she said.

This will be a non-disruptive protest outside Parliament co-ordinated by Extinction Rebellion but including other groups and individuals. “Of the people I talk to about climate change, the overwhelming majority are worried and feel that the government should do more, and yet few are involved in climate action,” she said. “Some object to Extinction Rebellion causing disruption to ordinary people’s lives. Others are supportive of XR’s actions but don’t feel it’s something they could join in with.

“The April protest is a chance for everyone to turn up and have their voices heard, without breaking the law or being associated with XR – or any particular movement come to that.”

 

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