Status: 29.12.2023, 20:40 PM
By: Moritz Maier
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An unusual trial against a Last Generation activist revolves around the question of whether road blockades are justified. The case could have far-reaching consequences.
Berlin – A few days before the New Year's Day, a picture full of contrasts presents itself in a Berlin district court. A big question arises: Does the failure of the federal government to protect the climate legitimizes the actions of the Last Generation? However, the scope of the question does not fit the scenery. The trial is not taking place in front of the Federal Constitutional Court, but in a small courtroom in the working-class district of Moabit. It is not the government that is accused, but a simple activist. So why this fundamental question? Because the judge in charge considers them relevant – and could thus make a ruling with symbolic power.
Is the Last Generation allowed to block roads? Symbolic court proceedings
But the framework of the process has little to do with symbolism. It takes place in a side room of the district court, a total of only 17 people are on site. judges, lawyers and judicial officials. In addition to the accused, a few supporters of the Last Generation are on site. No one else.
At first glance, the case against the defendant, surnamed Kahler, is one of many against activists of the Last Generation. Kahler says she quit her job as a psychologist to devote herself fully to activism. This was also the case in June 2022, when the 31-year-old took part in two road blockades in Berlin, for which she now has to answer in court for coercion. The case has already been heard in the first instance at the district court, and after a successful appeal, it is now continuing at the regional court.
For the first time, experts on the climate catastrophe and protests will be heard
The case became special when the presiding judge agreed to the motions made by the defense. Experts are invited as experts who have nothing to do with the blockades. For example, physicist and climate expert Brigitte Knopf, deputy chairwoman of the German government's Council of Experts on Climate Issues, and sociologist Simon Teune from the Institute for Protest and Movement Research are on trial.
It is not only on Berlin's Mehringdamm that activists of the Last Generation want to draw attention to the climate crisis – and regularly end up in court for doing so. © Sebastian Gollnow
No one said a word about the facts of the case – the road blockades – during the entire day of the trial. The defendant Kahler does not comment on this and is not even questioned.
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The German government is not meeting the climate targets set by law
Instead, physicist Knopf explains how the last and the current federal government have failed to meet climate protection targets in the buildings and transport sectors for years and have not complied with prescribed measures to compensate. Knopf's expert council consists of five experts and monitors compliance with Germany's climate targets.
Since 2019, there has been a climate protection law, which has been improved several times and obliges Germany to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. Annual sector targets are described. Germany's obligation to protect future generations is enshrined in the Basic Law.
The Last Generation's Hope for Acquittal on Climate Emergency
Protest researcher Teune explains to the court in detail at what point protests and civil disobedience are legitimate in theory. He says the protest is about the question "whether it is suitable for persuading the federal government to take political action and thereby avert suffering from the population."
The defense's calculation behind the unusual hearings is clear: the court is to be convinced that the federal government is failing to comply with the climate policy enshrined in the Basic Law and that protests such as road blockades are therefore legitimate as a wake-up call. The Last Generation has already used this tactic in other proceedings, but has always failed. The Berlin judge is the first to agree to the hearing of the experts.
Prosecutor's office dissatisfied with court proceedings
Visibly annoyed by this, the plaintiff's side is in the courtroom. From the beginning of the trial, the responsible public prosecutor was against the convening of the experts who were not connected with the crime. "I don't understand why we even have to hear the expert here today," says the plaintiff during the questioning of climate change expert Knopf.
The Last Generation hopes that the trial will change the way the protests are handled, says Theo Schnarr, one of the movement's leading figures, who is present at the trial. In the future, "the legitimate protests should also be recognized as such by the courts," says Schnarr. The verdict is still pending, and on January 16, the well-known climate researcher Stefan Rahmstorf will be heard and a decision will be made. The outcome is open, in the past cases of road blockades have been evaluated very differently.
The outcome of the proceedings could send a far-reaching signal. In the event of an acquittal, the Last Generation is likely to see its actions confirmed and vindicated.