Dutch actor and climate activist Sieger Sloot took to social media, as he typically does, to encourage people to join a protest planned in The Hague in January.

But what Sloot thought was an innocent attempt to organise a non-violent demonstration to demand action to tackle the burgeoning climate emergency led to an eight-month ordeal resulting in a sedition conviction.

The 45-year-old’s posts on Twitter, now known as X, were a call to join a protest organised by the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion to block part of the A12 highway, the main road leading to The Hague.

Formed in 2018, Extinction Rebellion has gained notoriety by employing disruptive tactics targeting roads and airports to denounce the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. The group, also known as XR, boasts more than 1,000 chapters in 88 countries.