We’re fundraising to support our friend Mala Nathan with legal costs for an upcoming trial relating to action she took in support of Extinction Rebellion (XR). Mala is a concerned citizen and a much-loved member of the local community here in Brighton. She was charged with breaking Section 14 of the Public Order Act while sitting down peacefully on the road in Parliament Square during XR's action to get MPs to pass the Climate & Ecological Emergency Bill last September.

Mala will appear before the magistrate on 10 June 2021 and we are all hopeful that she will be found not guilty, but Mala accepts that she will pay any fine imposed. We are fundraising for other legal and prosecution costs and out-of-pocket expenses as we feel she should not carry the burden alone when her action was taken with all of us in mind. 

Recently Mala told us “I hadn’t intended to get arrested. The reason I went up to London on 1 September was to hear the speeches.” “I’d been working on some environmental social research and one of my interviewees said she hadn’t believed in ‘all that climate change stuff’, but since the XR protests, she said ‘I’ve woken up, it’s a really serious issue and I now realise just how important it is and why the protestors are prepared to make these sacrifices.’”
Mala said, “That made me realise that the protests really do make a difference and that it’s working. That’s very motivating."

Another reason Mala was involved with XR is that her cousin had been evacuated during the wildfires in California , while other family members live in Chennai, a large city in south India where the tap water has at times completely run out. “People I know are being directly affected,” she said, “the climate crisis feels very current, it is not about the future, it’s already happening.”

We really hope you can dig into your pockets and support our fundraiser so that concerned citizens like Mala know that they have the support of all of us. Any money raised but not needed by Mala will be used to support another person facing similar charges or go to the XR legal fund.

Under new legislation proposed by the Government under the Police, Crime, Sentencing, Courts Bill 2021, peaceful action like Mala’s, taken near Parliament, which currently risks a £1,000 fine, could earn a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Mala's solicitor fees are £1200. If found guilty she will also be liable for prosecution costs which could be up to approx £900. We need your support: please contribute and share this page now!

UPDATE: After hitting the initial target we are now fundraising for others who are in a similar situation to Mala such as Mark Claireaux who was arrested immediately before her.