Amnesty International has reminded me that the Stansted 15 (Letters, 17 March), whose long-delayed trial begins on Monday in Chelmsford, are facing lengthy jail sentences for non-violent resistance to the hostile environment. These brave activists put their bodies on the line in a bid to prevent a mass deportation which may well have been unlawful. One day, no doubt, their solidarity will be celebrated. In the meantime, this absurd and alarming use of anti-terror law to prosecute human rights defenders makes me question whether those who celebrate (from a very safe distance) the heroism of the suffragettes and the anti-apartheid movement have really learned anything. Can we ask, please, why such courage is only honoured in retrospect?
Emma Jones
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
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