[Photograph of Francis being manhandled by police, copyright Milena Nova] On July 7th Francis Fernie, a 20-year-old student from York, was given a ridiculously punitive 12-month sentence for “violent disorder”, in this case chucking a couple of flimsy sticks from protest banners, injuring no one. There is a Facebook group set up to help him here, a campaign website here and a Twitter account here. There is no doubt at all that his incredibly harsh and unnecessary sentence is part of a broader attempt to criminalise young protesters, to put future protesters off and generally create a climate of fear around legitimate opposition to increasingly destructive government policies. Sign the petition for Francis Fernie here. We, the undersigned, call on the Secretary of State for Justice to: 1) Quash Francis Fernie’s sentence … Read entire article »