More than 50 people will walk 16 miles overnight on 28th January from HMP Bronzefield, to reach the Royal Courts of Justice on the morning of the 29th of January, when the Court of Appeal is hearing the cases of 16 UK climate prisoners appealing against disproportionately long sentences of imprisonment.

In advance of the walk, people across the country have been showing their support for the appeal by sharing their own ‘16 for 16’ stories on social media. People who have shared their stories include an artist who created 16 pieces of art, a 90 year old who took 16 sips of wine, an 80 year old who walked 16 laps of her garden a mum who baked 16 cookies with her children, and a poet who led a poetry walk and read 16 of his poems.

People can add their own stories to ‘16 for 16’ by simply sending them to @support16for16 Instagram profile, or posting a short video of their own, with a 16for16 hashtag and tagging @support16for16.

The walk, which is coordinated by Extinction Rebellion Walkers, demonstrates the strength of feeling by members of the general public against the sentences and the government legislation that undermines the right to protest.

Those walking will be will be echoing the call of the many UK and global organisations and commentators who have criticised the repressive use of anti-protest legislation.

Michel Forst, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders criticised both the legislation and the way it’s been used by the courts for having a “chilling effect” on the right to protest in the UK.

He stated the sentence handed down to one of the defendants -

“should shock the conscience of any member of the public. It should also put all of us on high alert on the state of civic rights and freedoms in the United Kingdom.”

MPs will address the walkers when they reach Parliament Square at 8.30am on 29th January.

The hearing will take place on 29th and 30th January 2025 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The appeal, arising from four separate cases, is against combined prison sentences of over 41 years for nonviolent protest.

Robin Ince, actor, author, and broadcaster (co-host of BBC Radio 4 series ‘The Infinite Monkey Cage’) said:

“The older I become the more absurd I find it that to destroy the world for profit for a few is deemed laudable and to be rewarded, but peaceful protest inspired by a desperate desire to protect the beauty of the planet for us all is deemed not merely offensive, but something so dangerous you should be imprisoned for it. If these are the values of our society then we doom our children to a precarious existence. I love the beauty of this planet, the colours and the birdsong, so much more wonderful than a golden elevator, and that is why I support 16 for 16”

Steve Scott-Robson 63, father and educator, will be joining the walk said:

“I will be joining the night walk to show my solidarity with the 16 environmental activists currently jailed for expressing peacefully their deep concern about the risks to our planet’s climate and biodiversity loss. I applaud loudly the spirit of these 16 activists, and I am grateful to them for their brave and defiant actions. It is an utter abomination that the country that has benefitted from industrialisation first – and therefore longest - is the country in Europe that has the harshest legislation aimed at environmental activists. The current UK government may ‘talk the talk’ on climate and related matters, but it has not yet learnt to ‘walk the walk’. By their examples, they have shown the spirit, tenacity and vision that is needed to raise engagement of people in this struggle.”

Stephen Micalef, poet, from London

“We led a William Blake poetry walk in Soho. Blake was a radical & visionary poet who spoke out against injustice in the 18th century. During this walk I was proud to recite 16 poems I had written for the 16 brave climate protesters now locked up in UK prisons for a total of 41 years. These peaceful protesters are political prisoners, given disproportionately long sentences under draconian new protest laws."

Carmel Gibbons, English teacher, from Ireland, said:

“I’m supporting people in England who have been brave enough to act on climate change. A lot of these people have had disproportionately long prisons sentences and the 16 for 16 campaign is drawing attention to this injustice. When I was younger, I took action to get rid of cruise missiles at Greenham Common and I think this is an important part of our democratic right to protest. We are all concerned about climate change and should be able to exercise our democratic right to protest. So that’s why I am doing 16 swims for the 16.”