Former Paralympic athlete James Brown has been sentenced to one year in prison, including six months’ imprisonment, for being trapped on the roof of a plane at London airport during the activities of the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion.

On October 10, 2019, James Brown, a 56-year-old northern Irish man born blind, was able to board the roof of a British Airways flight at London City Airport.

A double gold medalist representing the United Kingdom in cycling and athletics (gold in the 800 and 1500 meters at the 1984 Olympics and bronze in the 2012 time trial), his right hand was trapped in the plane before his cell phone jammed. To prevent the door from closing.

He wanted to do “something amazing.”

He spent an hour on a flight to Amsterdam, which, according to prosecution, disrupted more than 300 British Airways passengers, costing the airline 40 40,000 (, 46,700).

“The right to exhibit does not allow you to cause large and widespread disruption in a large airport […] Because you think this is true. “Judge Gregory Perrins said the sentence was handed down in Southwark Court in London. In July, the athlete was convicted of public harassment.

James Brown, who did not hire a lawyer during his trial, claimed he needed to “Do something amazing” To draw attention to the climate crisis.