Occupy London protesters can’t appeal eviction, judge rules

Occupy London protesters camped near the steps of St. Paul’s cathedral were denied permission to appeal a court ruling that they can be evicted.

The U.K. Court of Appeal refused the petition by representatives of the movement in an opinion issued today.

The City of London Corporation, which manages the financial district, sued to evict protesters claiming they were blocking a public passageway, impeding tourists and forcing the continued closing of nearby Paternoster Square, where the London Stock Exchange is located.

“It is a travesty that today’s decision will limit voices of dissent within the City of London,” Tammy Samede, the Occupy London representative named in the appeal, said in an e-mailed statement. “However, Occupy is far from over. We’ve cut our milk teeth at St. Paul’s and now we are maturing, growing and learning how to run.”

A lower court judge ruled in January that the eviction could proceed following a week-long trial in which some vicars testified supporting the camp’s right to protest global economic inequality.

An attorney for the protesters, John Cooper, said in the statement the group anticipates taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.