On 19 June 2024, the three land defenders Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jayohcee Jocko were informed that the upcoming hearing scheduled for that day was postponed until 3 September 2024. This was due to unforeseen health issues.
The hearing concerns the abuse of process application filed by the defenders after they were found guilty of criminal contempt of court on 12 January 2024. This verdict was due to the human rights defenders breaking a court order forbidding them from blocking construction sites of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, a 670-kilometre pipeline planned to carry natural gas across northern British Columbia to a terminal in Kitimat. The human rights defenders argue that their human rights were violated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) during their arrests and detention in November 2021.
Front Line Defenders calls on the judicial authorities to guarantee a due process in the following hearing, safeguarding the well being of human rights defenders Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jayohcee Jocko. The organization will keep observing the trial and the compliance of human rights standards, including the ones related to the protection of human rights defenders and the use of force.