Oil industry conference in New Zealand canceled: climate activist must be jailed for 10 years for false letter

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Rosemary Penwarden (64) from New Zealand has been committed to saving the climate since 2011 with body and soul. The oil industry is therefore a thorn in the side of the activist.

To torpedo their activities, Penwarden was above nothing. In 2019, she posed as an organizer of an oil industry conference and sent a mock letter to all speakers and canceled the conference outright.

Penwarden must now pay for the action with her freedom: as CNN reports, she was found guilty of forgery by a court in Dunedin this week. In the worst case, the climate activist risks ten years in prison.

False letter was meant to be satirical

The activist cited the climate crisis as the reason for canceling the Pepanz (Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand) conference. Activists learned of the conference and again planned noise and disturbance, so the event had to be postponed until further notice.

Penwarden sent the alleged organizer’s letter five days before the conference. The activist testified in court that she was just trying to “be creative.”

It was never their goal to take it so seriously. Instead, the bogus letter was intended to be “satirical” and to “get on the nerves” of the oil industry.

Activist defends verdict

Although the action was resolved before the start of the conference and the conference could take place, the climate activist is now behind bars.

Penwarden didn’t see that coming – her arrest and trial came as a surprise to her. After the action, she was not heard from again until the police showed up months later – in the summer of 2020 – and arrested her and seized her laptop and mobile phone.

The fact that she was even sentenced met with incomprehension from the activist: “I was reminded of the wrong world we live in. It’s not the grandmothers who have to stand trial, it’s the oil industry, the people who make huge profits from all the destroy our futures.”

Niamh O’Flynn, program director at Greenpeace, also called Penwarden’s experience an “injustice”: “We need climate action now more than ever. We need more people like Rosemary who are willing to take a stand,” O’ said. Flynn in a statement.

Energy Resources Aotearoa, formerly known as Pepanz, did not respond to a request from CNN. The judgment is scheduled for September 8, according to the Dunedin District Court. While the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison, Penwarden said her lawyers will ask for a “conviction-free release.” (dzc)

Source: Blick