For weeks, activists with blockades have been calling for a resolute policy against the climate crisis. Could stiff penalties stop the protests? And how likely is that?
Chains, blockades, clashes and a tube “Uhu lightning fast”: For weeks there have been increasing protests by climate activists from the “Last Generation” group in Berlin and numerous other cities. Almost every day they attach themselves to the road with superglue and force traffic to a standstill.
The police usually try speeches first and then carry the demonstrators away after the glue has been loosened. And otherwise, the possibilities of the officials are limited: “People are taken into custody for different reasons,” said a police spokesman on request. This is used to prevent possible further acts – but the activists should not remain in police custody for more than 48 hours.
In addition, an investigating judge must check whether the measure is permissible. Two days later at the latest, the activists are free again – and can once again stick to the streets.
There are already more than 200 procedures against the activists in the special investigation group “EG Asphalt” of the Berlin police, twelve are already with the public prosecutor, according to Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD). But what penalties can the blockers expect for their radical protest?
Lawyer on protests: Procedure for coercion “very likely”
Benjamin Grunst, a specialist lawyer for criminal law, sees the protests primarily as a possible coercion of drivers who are forced by the activists to stand in traffic. He sees it as “very likely” that the demonstrators will therefore be fined.
According to Grunst, the criminal offense of dangerous intervention in road traffic is also possible. In the penal code, that sounds threatening to the activists: It states: Anyone who impairs road safety by obstructing traffic and thereby “endangering the life or limb of another person (…) will be punished with imprisonment for up to five years or a fine.”
An almost everyday picture at Berlin’s motorway ramps (archive picture): In the past few weeks, more than 200 investigations have been carried out by the police. (Source: Christian Mang/Reuters)
Grunst sees such a dangerous intervention as a given if, for example, an ambulance cannot get through the traffic jam caused by activists. In one case, an ambulance with a heavily pregnant woman was apparently stuck in the backlog of a blockade. A police car eventually took her to a hospital.
Martin Stelltner, spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office, confirms Grunst’s assessment. Accordingly, the previous ads are primarily about coercion, resistance and isolated dangerous interventions in road traffic.
Motorway blockades: imprisonment for activists unlikely
Nevertheless, the lawyer only sees a fine coming to the activists. “That is what will come out, at least in the current proceedings.” If repeated, however, the punishment could become more and more intense. However, he does not expect imprisonment. In the past, too, there were no such severe penalties for similar protest actions.
Benjamin Grunst: The specialist lawyer for criminal law assumes that the penalties for the climate activists will not be too severe. (Source: Dietmar Schmidt)
However, some activists could be accused of another possible crime: the police usually break up the blockades and carry the demonstrators off the street. Violent fidgeting or stiffening of the body when handcuffs are applied can also mean resistance to law enforcement officers – which could increase the fine again.
Lawyer: Big court cases should probably be avoided
But can the procedures stop the activists at all – or do they take too long to stop them quickly anyway? The CDU has already called for summary proceedings, but Martin Steltner, spokesman for the Berlin public prosecutor’s office, rejected this: The proceedings were “intended for simple criminal proceedings with confessed perpetrators. Here we are dealing with quite complex proceedings.”
Protests on Monday in Hamburg: The activists often strike in the morning rush hour. (Source: Christian Charisius/dpa)
For attorney Grunst, the issue of how the trials against the activists are going is more a political one than a legal one. He assumes that there will primarily be penal order proceedings – i.e. a decision by the court without a main hearing.
Because in a major court case, demonstrators from the group would of course have another opportunity for a public protest. “I think you’re not interested in being in the media all the time. That’s why you’re trying to take a quieter path.”
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