NZ climate activist faces up to 10 years in prison over fake letter saying fossil fuel event cancelled
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Rosemary Penwarden said her letter telling oil executives a petroleum conference was off was satirical protest but was found guilty of forgery offences

Rosemary Penwarden, 64, who sent the letter to an oil company’s delegates argued it was a form of “satirical protest”, said she was astonished by the outcome.

  • bermuda@beehaw.org
    0·
    1 year ago

    Crown prosecutor Richard Smith told jurors the trial wasn’t about debating climate change or Penwarden’s character, but the use of a falsified document. “It was just to cause disruption to the conference with a thinly veiled defence of satire woven into it,” Smith said.

    I mean, makes sense. But considering her attempts to cancel the meeting didn’t even work, I’d be surprised if she gets the 10 year sentence for this.

    • 0x815@feddit.deOP
      0·
      1 year ago

      I hope she won’t get a sentence, but I am not a lawyer for expressing an informed legal opinion. The point I make is that we know in the meantime that the oil industry has been downplaying climate change and its related health issues for decades, although they new about it from their own research in the 1980s already. And no one faces any consequences. As a legal layman I can’t say whether that’s legal, but I don’t feel it’s right.