After an action by climate demonstrators, a 20-year-old came before the Tiergarten District Court on Tuesday. The young man from Leipzig took part in a road blockade by the group “Last Generation” in June of this year and sat down with six other people on the roadway in the area of the A100 city motorway in Wedding in the morning hours and glued it to it.
The Tiergarten district court ruled that the 20-year-old was guilty of coercion. The court sentenced the young man to 60 hours of free time work. The public prosecutor’s office had applied for a fine of 1,500 euros and argued that the 20-year-old should be sentenced under adult criminal law for coercion and resistance to law enforcement officials.
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However, the court did not see the allegation of resistance as proven. Due to the man’s age, it applied the more lenient juvenile criminal law. The defense had requested an acquittal.
According to the information, a penalty order for a fine of 450 euros (30 daily rates of 15 euros each) was issued against the 20-year-old for coercion and resistance to law enforcement officials. Because he had lodged an objection to this, a hearing was held.
A trial against a 59-year-old from Munich for three road blockades on January 26th and 28th follows on September 1st. He did not want to accept the penalty order for 50 daily rates of 50 euros – i.e. 2500 euros.
Overall, the public prosecutor’s office has completed the investigation into more than a hundred blockers and applied for penal orders from the court. All cases involve coercion and resistance to law enforcement officials. In July, 59 procedures were completed, in August there were 55 cases by Friday. Further investigations are ongoing, so far no penal order has become final.
Even if the court confirms the fines, it remains unclear how much the activists will be affected. The “Last Generation” is already raising funds to pay police bills for roadblock operations.
The police demanded 241 euros for the removal of the activists’ hands that were glued to the streets, which is why they are also called “climate glue”. Since the beginning of the first wave of blockades in January and the second wave in June and July, 63 fee notifications have been sent out so far.
