The district court in Berlin was the second court in Germany to sentence a member of the "last generation" to imprisonment.
Wrongly so from the point of view of the climate activists.
Berlin – On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, a “last generation” climate activist was sentenced to four months in prison by the Berlin-Tiergarten district court.
As a spokeswoman announced, the 24-year-old activist Maja W. will be punished for sticking to the frame of a work by the painter Lucas Cranach and taking part in a road blockade.
According to the court spokeswoman, the sentence against the climate activist of the "last generation" was handed down without parole.
Background: Maja W. would have announced that she wanted to continue with the actions.
However, the judgment is not yet final.
Climate activist sentenced to four months in prison for attempted coercion and property damage
On August 25, 2022, the 24-year-old and another activist stuck themselves to the wooden frame of the Cranach painting "Rest on the Flight into Egypt" in a painting gallery.
This action resulted in damage of around 2,300 euros.
The court ruled that this was criminal damage to property.
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Climate activist Maja W. of the "last generation" was sentenced to four months in prison by the district court in Berlin-Tiergarten.
© Paul Zinken/dpa
In addition, the "last generation" climate activist was found guilty of resisting law enforcement officials and attempted coercion.
Maja W. took part in a road blockade on June 21, 2022 and stuck to the road as part of it.
However, the police were able to break up the blockade quickly.
As a result, there were no major disruptions to traffic.
“Last Generation” criticizes verdict and appeals
From the point of view of the "last generation", the verdict is unjustified.
"We were particularly shocked that the judge took into account facts that aggravated the sentence that she is not allowed to use," said Solvig Schinköthe critically of the conviction.
The press spokesman for the activist group accused the court of including other ongoing investigations and the current protests by the climate movement in Berlin in the sentence.
This is not permitted.
The group also pointed out that all vehicles could have left the road blockade and that there would have been no casualties.
The fact of the matter of coercion does not therefore apply.
The group also questioned the extent of the property damage: "The original cost of the frame was 60 Deutschmarks," says a press release.
The group has appealed the verdict.
Climate activist sentenced to prison – “I will continue to resist”
Maya W. is outraged by the verdict: "I'm stunned by what just happened in court," said the convicted activist.
The conviction scares her, but also "incredibly angry," she is quoted as saying in the press release of the "Last Generation" about her trial.
"People are put behind bars here who work to ensure that our basic rights are respected," says Maya W. In her eyes, the real criminals are the people who "advance destruction and do nothing," she says in a video Clip on Twitter.
“This verdict scares me terribly & makes me incredibly angry.
[...] But I'm much more afraid of what will happen if we don't act now.
I will not stand by and watch as we lead society to destruction,”
says Maja after the verdict was announced.
2/x pic.twitter.com/dwU1D8NrX2
— Last Generation (@uprisingLastGen) April 26, 2023
According to the activist, the "annihilation of society" caused by climate change and the inaction of people is even more frightening than the prospect of a prison sentence.
"I'm not going to be an accomplice when millions of people are going to suffer and die just because we're too lazy to do anything," she says.
"Therefore, I will continue to resist."
So far, the climate activists of the "last generation" have mostly received fines.
In March, however, two activists were sentenced by the Heilbronn district court to two and three months in prison, respectively, and four activists in mid-April to three to five months in prison.
(han/AFP)
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Transparency notice: This article was last updated on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 11:20 am.
List of rubrics: © Paul Zinken/dpa