In the United Kingdom, 26 people were charged after blocking two newspaper printing works and delaying the distribution of newspapers on Friday night.
The blockades were led by activists from the environmentalist group Extinction Rebellion who criticised the newspapers of the News Corp group held by Rupert Murdoch for not covering "?l 'climate emergency and écologique?" in a serious way. The News Corp group that was targeted holds, among other things, the newspapers The Sun , The Times , The Scotish Sun and The Daily Mail .
Sarah Lunnon, spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion, said of this action:
«? Our media and our government are captured by vested interests. They do not want change. Three companies alone hold 87% of the national newspaper market with links to the fossil fuel industry. That's why, over the past 30 years, we have seen nothing like the level and hierarchy of reporting we need.?»
According to a police statement, 26 people were charged with "?intrusion aggravée?" and conditionally released after the blockade of the printing works in Knowsley, near Liverpool, and 50 people were taken into custody after the blockade of another printing works in London.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson accuses the organisation Exctinction Rebellion of attacking press freedom by preventing the dissemination of information. He said on Twitter : "?Il is totally unacceptable to seek to limit public access to information in this way.?»
In a statement, Exctinvtion Rebellion apologized to the companies affected by this action.
"?À all small businesses disrupted by this morning's action, we say we're sorry. We hope that our actions seem commensurate with the severity of the crisis we are facing and that this day of disruption will successfully sound the alarm for the greatest disruption to come. There are five very wealthy people who own these newspapers and we encourage them to compensate you.?»
According to government sources reported in the media, the organization could be classified as a criminal organization.
