The land of the Wet’suwet’en Nation is located in the Canadian province of British Columbia (B.C.).
For years, the indigenous land defenders have been peacefully resisting the construction of a liquified natural gas pipeline by Coastal GasLink on their land. They have never agreed to this construction. They are protesting for the protection of forests and water and for the protection of their culture and the climate.
However, the Canadian authorities are taking ruthless action against the protests of the land defenders and their allies. In January 2024, the land defenders Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham), Shaylynn Sampson and Corey “Jayochee” Jocko were found guilty. The accusation: they had disregarded a court-ordered ban on entering the pipeline construction site. They face prison sentences.
Stand up for the land defenders of the Wet’suwet’en Nation and demand an end to the reprisals by the authorities. Please join our email campaign to David Eby, the Premier of British Columbia.
Link to action (german): Website of Amnesty International (Germany)
Background
The 670-kilometer-long pipeline of the Canadian company Coastal GasLink (CGL), a subsidiary of TC Energy, runs right through the ancestral land of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, on which they have lived since time immemorial and which they have never ceded or sold.
According to the “UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples” (UNDRIP), the traditional Wet’suwet’en Nation have the right to self-determination and can therefore decide for themselves which forms of economic development should take place on their land. Back in 2014, the hereditary chiefs decided against the pipeline construction on behalf of their five clans. Nevertheless, construction began five years later without their consent. This is the largest infrastructure project by a private company and one of the largest energy investments in Canadian history, with the political and financial support of the Canadian and B.C. governments.
During the construction period, the peaceful actions of the Wet’suwet’en Nation and their allies were met with intimidation, racial discrimination, harassment, unlawful surveillance and criminalization by Coastal GasLink police and private security forces.
In order to continue the pipeline construction against the opposition of the land defenders and to prevent disturbances in the construction area, the Supreme Court of B.C. issued an injunction at the request of Coastal GasLink. This allows the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to arrest and detain anyone approaching the construction sites, obstructing the work or blocking access roads.
To enforce the court order, the RCMP and its special unit carried out four large-scale raids on Wet’suwet’en Nation territory between 2019 and 2023. As Amnesty International 2023 writes in the report ‘Removed from our land for defending it’: Criminalization, Intimidation and Harassment of Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders, they used disproportionate force, semi-automatic weapons, helicopters and dog squads, destroyed huts, desecrated ceremonial sites and made racist remarks against Indigenous women. More than 75 people were arbitrarily arrested and temporarily detained, even though they were simply exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
During one of these raids, Sleydo’ (Molly Wickham), Shaylynn Sampson and Corey “Jayochee” Jocko were arrested in November 2021 and detained for several days. After being charged with criminal contempt of the restraining order along with others, the court found them guilty in January 2024. They filed a lawsuit in court for abuse of process during their arrests and detention, citing racial discrimination and excessive force by the police.
Although the competent judge found in February 2025 that the fundamental rights of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated by the conduct of the police, he did not overturn the guilty verdicts against the three land defenders, but stated that he would consider a lesser sentence.
Amnesty International has condemned the January 2024 convictions as unjust and is considering declaring them prisoners of conscience if they are sentenced to imprisonment (prison or house arrest).
To increase the capacity of the now operational gas pipeline, Coastal GasLink, together with LNG Canada, plans to build two large compressor stations on their land without the consent of the Hereditary Chiefs. These will occupy 47.9 hectares of land (approximately 89.5 football fields). Both stations will be powered by natural gas rather than electric generators, which will significantly increase methane emissions and local air pollution. The Hereditary Chiefs fear significant health impacts and renewed massive restrictions for members of the Wet’suwet’en Nation living nearby.