FIVE women who smashed windows at JP Morgan’s European headquarters in London will appeal their convictions on Thursday, in what is being regarded as a pivotal moment for democracy.

The women staged the action in September 2021 to protest the bank’s role as the fossil fuel industry’s top financier.

They were convicted of criminal damage in March 2024. Four of them were handed suspended sentences, while one was jailed for 10 months.

During the trial, Judge Silas Reid threatened the jury with criminal proceedings if they applied their conscience to the case.

He warned: “It is only on the evidence you are able to try the case and not on conscience.

“It is a criminal offence for a juror to do anything from which it can be concluded that a decision will be made on anything other than the evidence.”

The threat was seen as defying the principle of “jury equity” in which jurors can acquit a defendant as a matter of conscience, irrespective of the directions of the judge.

With this at stake, campaigners are describing the appeal as a critical moment for democracy.

Appellant Pamela Bellinger accused Judge Reid of “eroding democracy by attempting to undermine the fundamental democratic principle of jury independence.”

Amy Pritchard, also appealing, said: “When governments and corporations justify, fund, profit from and participate in genocides, and ignore the law, clearly the conscience of ordinary people needs to be heard. 

“The legal system is abused by those hoarding power and money. International and domestic law, and human rights, are being ignored and juries are an essential safety valve.”

Campaigners will hold signs bearing the principle of jury equity in a protest outside the appeal courts on Thursday.