The suspicion has been there for a long time, now it is confirmed. The state accuses climate activists of overdoing it with the protest. And what is this state doing? He exaggerates even when trying to put these activists in their place. This can be observed in Munich, since the IAA motor show was held here for the first time a year ago. The police were gearing up for the largest operation in 20 years, and the sticks were remarkably loose during demonstrations. She also wanted to have activists locked up for a few days because they occupied motorway bridges on the first day of the IAA, whereupon the police closed the lanes towards the city. The preventive detention should prevent them from blocking roads again. This police tactic, however, became an embarrassment and a district court declared it illegal.
The Munich II public prosecutor is now charging three of the bridge occupiers with coercing almost 1,300 drivers who were stuck in traffic on the A 96 for an hour and a half. So far, so to be expected. But what are the prosecutors doing? They apply for the trial to be held before the lay judge. This is responsible if the expected range of sentences is between two and four years in prison.
It is also clear to the activists that the action will hardly go unpunished. But prison? Yes, motorists get upset about the traffic jam, and yes, you also have to consider the dangers of the action, accidents could have happened. Thank goodness nothing happened. The three accused activists did not damage anything, did not use violence, not even against things. What they did: They dared to disrupt the car festival. How proud were the rulers in the town hall and state chancellery that they had brought the IAA from Frankfurt to Munich – and then spoiled the fun with their climate fuss.
Now the receipt is threatening. The indictment before the jury is more than the “act of general prevention” called by the public prosecutor. The message is also a political one: people, don’t dare again! We can send you to jail, really long. This intimidation is also relevant because the car industry wants to celebrate again in a year for its supposed climate friendliness, again in Munich.
Listening to the young activists, there is no doubt that they are acting out of concern and desperation. You are scared. Fear for their own future and that of the planet. Unlike many leaders in politics and industry, they have recognized the seriousness of droughts, fires and floods. And they won’t stop disobeying anytime soon.
How good that the possible punishment for the bridge activists is not decided by a public prosecutor who is bound by instructions, but by an independent court. And if politicians are wondering how protests of this kind against PS festivals can be prevented in the future: there is a way to counteract this, without sticks and jail – an effective climate policy. Sustainable action in the city, in the country, in the federal government and internationally. A policy that does not prioritize the profits of the wealthy and industry, but the survival of all.