Climate adhesives were on trial in Linz for the first time on Wednesday. The process ended in disappointment for the activists. You still want to continue.
The regional administrative court in Linz resembled a climate demo on Wednesday morning. Countless environmentalists with banners had gathered in front of and in the building. The reason: For the first time, climate adhesives were on trial.
The four activists were easy to spot: they stood out from the crowd with their colorful outfits and hair. Visibly nervous, they finally took their places individually in front of two judges and one female judge, then talked about their very personal motivation for the protest actions.
show more
What they have in common is the fear of the effects of climate change: “I’m so scared of the climate catastrophe, drought, floods or war. I don’t know what to do anymore. I just did it out of love for people. I don’t want anyone hurt, but help”, activist (24) Jelena Saf made an emotional statement.
The sticking action was only used “because other forms of protest brought absolutely nothing,” said the 24-year-old. “I don’t like doing it, it’s very uncomfortable for both me and the drivers involved. I hate it so much.”
Auto-Chancellor angry climate adhesive – blockade in Graz
The young woman did not even deny that she glued herself to the street in Linz in November 2022. “In my opinion, given the current climate emergency, this is a legitimate protest,” said Saf. “We don’t want to hurt anyone either, so we always keep a rescue lane open.”
The activists’ concerns were ultimately rejected by the court. That disappointed her. “But I will continue until the government finally shows that it wants to do something about climate change,” announced the activist. You are now facing the payment of a 700-euro fine.
David Sonnenbaum (35) spoke of “inner anger and desperation” from the “last generation”. He was also involved in the protests in November 2022. “I can no longer watch our livelihoods being destroyed,” he said. Social peace is too important to him.
Follow us on social networks
That’s why he decided to put up peaceful resistance to everyday fossil fuels. “I see it as my responsibility to protest,” said the 35-year-old.
Youngest activist only 18 years old
The other two activists are 18 and 25 years old. Her statements also made it clear that the protests were not intended as pure disruptive actions, “we rather want to make a difference,” said the student.
And that’s what the process was about: In November 2022, the four members of the “Last Generation” glued themselves to the street on Hauptstrasse and Hafenstrasse in Linz. The police imposed a fine of several hundred euros for “violations of the assembly law and/or the security police law”.
Formal errors caused the appeal to fail
The environmentalists had previously submitted an application to the police regarding the amount of the penalty. The fines were eventually reduced. The following hearing on Wednesday was also about the deeds themselves.
In the room was not only the renewed question of the penalty, but also that of whether the protests were justified or not. The judges rejected the appeal in both cases on Wednesday. Bitter: The reason was a formal error.
“We could not judge the legitimacy of the protests because they were not the subject of the objection. If we had done that, it would have been abuse of office. The penalty has already been clarified and reduced,” explained the presiding judge. The judgment is final and can no longer be appealed.
The extent of the penalty is made up of the individual offences. The police initially estimated 200 to 250 euros per violation. That has now been reduced to 80 to 100 euros.
