Eleven Activists Released from Ugandan Jail Following Climate Protest
The eleven climate activists who were released on bail in Kampala, Uganda, following the support of Global Climate Legal Defense and local lawyers.
Kampala, Uganda (March 6, 2025) – Eleven activists have been successfully released from a jail in Uganda today, following a protest against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) late last month. Global Climate Legal Defense (CliDef), a legal organization and funder working worldwide to defend climate defenders, provided legal advice and support via its local legal network to successfully secure the students’ release.
On February 26th, the climate activists were arrested and detained during a march to the European Union’s embassy in Kampala, Uganda. The activists, members of Students Against EACOP Uganda, were en route to deliver a petition to the Ambassador of the European Union, Jean Sadek, calling for intervention to halt EACOP’s construction.
The proposed EACOP is a 1,443-kilometer (nearly 900-mile) pipeline that would connect the oilfields in western Uganda with the port of Tanga in eastern Tanzania. The crude oil will be transported to refineries in the Netherlands. The proposed pipeline, which would move over 230,000 oil barrels each day, has experienced strong opposition in Uganda, Tanzania, and Europe over human rights and environmental concerns.
As opposition to the pipeline’s construction has surged over the last three years, Ugandans have witnessed a series of legal reprisals for non-violent protest against EACOP’s construction.
The eleven climate activists who were recently released on bail in Kampala, Uganda, arrive in the courtroom to hear their case.
In response, Global Climate Legal Defense has supported climate defenders with legal strategy and local lawyers, to ensure that climate defenders get the legal support they need. The organization has provided legal representation to several hundred climate defenders in Uganda who have faced arrests, frivolous criminal charges, detention, and lawsuits for their advocacy, and has obtained the release of more than two hundred people from jail.
All but one person have been released from jail. Human rights lawyer Eron Kiiza remains detained at this time in a military prison for frivolous charges and a wrongful conviction. CliDef continues to support Mr. Kiiza’s case.
“We are thankful for this ruling and release of each activist,” said Alfred Brownell, Founding President of Global Climate Legal Defense, in response to the recent release of the 11 student activists. “It is also an honor to work with the brilliant, innovative, and strategic team of lawyers who are building the expertise and legal infrastructure to respond to the avalanche of egregious reprisals that climate activists are facing across Uganda.”