Muskrat Falls activists released from St. John’s penitentiary amid protests
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Three Labrador protesters jailed after refusing to obey a court injunction ordering them to stay away from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project site are to be released.
The trio — Jim Learning, Eldred Davis and Marjorie Flowers, who activists describe as Inuit elders — were taken into custody July 21 and held at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary in St. John’s, N.L.
Their incarceration became a focal point for protests around the Muskrat Falls megaproject, with about two dozen protesters rallying Monday at the Confederation Building in St. John’s, where they presented a 3,000-name petition calling for their release.
“People are trying to have their voices heard and sending them to a penitentiary in St. John’s thousands of kilometres away from their home is definitely a bit extreme,” said protest organizer Angela Giles, who said the three are simply trying to protect their land and the environment.