Without parole

Climate activist (65) sentenced to long prison term

The convicted man took part in pasting campaigns. (symbolic image)(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

After participating in sit-in blockades, a 65-year-old activist from the Last Generation climate group in Berlin has been sentenced to a prison term without probation. The man was sentenced to one year and ten months in prison. The activists do not want to accept the sentence.

He is guilty of coercion, attempted coercion and resisting law enforcement officers. The verdict is not final. The trial was about road blockades in which the 65-year-old took part and, according to the spokeswoman, also taped some of them to the road.

A total of 40 cases were sentenced. The public prosecutor's office had reportedly demanded more than two years in prison, while the defense pleaded for acquittal. The court will now justify the verdict in writing. The trial began in November 2023.

Relatively at the beginning, the court made a plea bargain proposal. The man was offered a suspended prison sentence of one year in exchange for a confession, it was said. However, the defense did not agree to this.

Activists criticize "enemy criminal law"
The Last Generation wrote in a statement that the 65-year-old intends to appeal against the sentence. It showed that the judiciary did not know how to deal with the protest.

The Last Generation's statement in the video:

The verdict is a departure from justice and the law, said the defendant's defense in the statement. "Instead of a constitutionally required balancing of the conflicting fundamental rights, hostile criminal law is being applied here."

Red-white-red offshoot changes form of protest
It was only in July that a climate activist was sentenced to one year and four months in prison following paint attacks and street blockades in Berlin. At the beginning of August, the Last Generation Austria announced that it was ending its protests, such as sticking things to streets, as well as other forms of activism.