Amnesty International responds to B.C. court ruling in appeal of Wet’suwet’en land defender Chief Dsta’hyl

Press Release

May 5, 2026

In response to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia’s ruling that Likhts’amisyu Clan Wing Chief Dsta’hyl of the Wet’suwet’en Nation cannot cite Indigenous law to overturn his criminal conviction, Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section, said the following:

“The Canadian state has unjustly criminalized Chief Dsta’hyl for defending the land and rights of the Wet’suwet’en people against the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. According to Amnesty International, he should not have been prosecuted in the first place. Indeed, taking peaceful action to defend unceded ancestral land should not be treated as a crime.”

Canada’s treatment of Chief Dsta’hyl and other land defenders of the Wet’suwet’en Nation has been criticized by Amnesty International and various UN expert bodies. The governments of British Columbia and Canada have denied the Wet’suwet’en their right to free, prior and informed consent over the construction of gas pipelines on their traditional territory. Canada has violated their right to freedom of movement across their ancestral territory and threatened their traditional way of life.

Chief Dsta’hyl was declared a prisoner of conscience in 2024

In 2024, a B.C. judge sentenced Chief Dsta’hyl for allegedly violating a court injunction that Amnesty International says infringes his Indigenous and Charter rights. Chief Dsta’hyl was sentenced to 60 days of house arrest, leading Amnesty International to declare him a prisoner of conscience. It was the first time Amnesty International had ever assigned a prisoner-of-conscience designation to a person incarcerated by Canada.

Two years later, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia has ruled that Chief Dsta’hyl cannot cite Wet’suwet’en law as part of the judicial proceedings to overturn his criminal conviction. This is a further infringement of the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s right to self-determination. These injustices are painful echoes of Canada’s history of colonial violence against Indigenous Peoples.

Escalating attacks on Indigenous Nations’ rights

This decision arrives as the Government of Canada and provincial governments across the country have passed legislation which threaten Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination by accelerating approvals for major fossil-fuel infrastructure projects. In British Columbia, Premier David Eby recently had to walk back threats to re-open the province’s legislation enshrining the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

‘Canada must listen with respect and hold up, not lock up, Indigenous land defenders like Chief Dsta’hyl. We call on Canada and the B.C. government to follow their lead toward a healthier, more sustainable future for all.’

—Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada

As Canada and British Columbia continue making egregious decisions to finance and approve the expansion of fossil-fuel projects, Indigenous leaders like Chief Dsta’hyl are defending natural ecosystems that lessen the impacts of climate change. With the utmost respect for Chief Dsta’hyl’s critical work to protect Wet’suwet’en land, Amnesty International urges Canada to stop the criminalization of Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous defenders during a global climate emergency.

“Indigenous Peoples face disproportionate harms from the burning of fossil fuels. Yet Indigenous human rights defenders like Chief Dsta’hyl are using their Indigenous laws as a roadmap for making decisions about our planetary health that will benefit all Canadians,” said Nivyabandi. “Canada must listen with respect and hold up, not lock up, Indigenous land defenders like Chief Dsta’hyl. We call on Canada and the B.C. government to follow their lead toward a healthier, more sustainable future for all.”

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