Amnesty International says they will consider prisoner-of-conscience designations after three Canadian First Nations prisoners were denied a stay of all charges relating to a police raid on Wet'suwet'en territory.
Last week, a British Columbia judge said police had breached the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in arresting Sleydo' (Molly Wickham), a wing chief of the Gidimt'en Clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, Shaylynn Sampson, a Gitxsan woman with Wet'suwet'en family ties, and Corey Jocko, who is Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) from Akwesasne, for blocking work on the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline.
The three had asked the court to void their convictions on constitutional grounds after being found guilty last year of criminal contempt of court for breaking an injunction against blocking work on the CGL pipeline in November 2021.
They asked Justice Michael Tammen to stay the criminal contempt of court charges, or to reduce their sentences.
The group had previously said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) used excessive force while arresting them after police broke into two structures on November 19, 2021 - without a warrant - to arrest them.
Furthermore, it was argued the group was unfairly treated in custody.
Justice Tammen said behaviour of some members of the RCMP/Community Industry Response Group (C-IRG) members during the raid, including anti-Indigenous statements, violated the defenders' Charter rights.
"I view the conduct as extremely serious involving racism directed towards Indigenous women, that is a group that has been systemically disadvantaged through all sectors of the criminal justice system for generations," Justice Tammen said.
He said it would be inappropriate to stay court proceedings, but noted he would consider a reduction in sentence as a remedy for the treatment faced by the three.
Speaking at a press conference after the decision was handed down last week, Sleydo' said the process had been a "violation of my rights and responsibilities as an Indigenous person and my responsibility to the health and wellness of future generations and the Yintah".
"The colonial courts are not where our ability to live out our laws and ways of life should be determined," they said.
"And yet here we are, over three years later, in a showdown between Wet'suwet'en law and colonial law after years of police violence and repression by the C-IRG, with no accountability. I refuse to allow the colonial courts to dehumanize and criminalise me.
"I belong to my land, my ancestors, and my people."
Justice Tammen said the groups' Section 7 rights of the Charter - life, liberty, and security of person - were breached, highlighting multiple officers on two separator audio recordings comparing Sleydo' and Sampson to orcs and ogres for wearing red hand prints over their mouths.
The red hand print is a symbol representing missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.
"The comments about the red face paint were not made by a single officer and were not a one-off occurrence," Justice Tammen said.
"That is potentially a sign of systemic attitudinal issues within the C-IRG."
Justice Tammen said a stay in proceedings could only be granted in the clearest of cases, which he argued this as not. Under B.C law, the maximum sentence for criminal contempt is five years imprisonment.
In a statement, Amnesty International said should the group receive a sentence that "arbitrarily deprives them of their liberty", the organisation will designate the three members as "prisoners of conscience".
Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada's English-speaking section, Ketty Nivyabandi, said whilst they were "heartened" by Justice Tammin's condemnation of the racism in the police, the "systematic racism" that led to the group's arrest remains unaddressed.
"B.C. and Canada must take immediate steps to stop the criminalisation of Indigenous land defenders in the first place," Nivyabandi said.
"No one should be intimidated, harassed, or arrested, let alone convicted in a criminal court case, for exercising their constitutionally protected rights and protecting the natural environment we all share."
An Amnesty report on four RCMP raids on Wet'suwet'en territory found "Wet'suwet'en land defenders and their supporters were arbitrarily detained for peacefully defending their land against the construction of the CGL pipeline and exercising their Indigenous rights and their right to peaceful assembly".
Speaking last week, Sleydo' said she was a mother, a daughter, a sister, an auntie, a good friend, and a leader.
"I am a singer, a hunter, a teacher, and a revolutionary. I am following the footsteps of my ancestors, and I carry their teachings with me in everything that I do," Sleydo' said.
The three will be sentenced at a later date.
