The Munich police want to prevent climate activists from blocking Munich’s Karlsplatz again on Tuesday morning during rush hour. Those who still manage to get stuck on the road should be asked to pay for their use. This was announced by Andreas Franken, press chief of the Munich police headquarters, on Sunday. Depending on the duration of the operation, the fees for removing stuck protesters could range from 250 euros to four-digit amounts per person.
The Munich police are reacting to an announcement by the “last generation”. Aimee van Baalen, a spokeswoman for the climate protection group, said in a television interview on Thursday that traffic in Munich should be interrupted from 8 a.m. on Tuesday. The “Last Generation” even named the exact location on Twitter: the roadway at the Stachus taxi rank.
Franken did not say exactly how the police wanted to prevent blockades. Unlike two weeks ago, there will be no meeting notice this time, said Franken. The city has issued a general decree against climate protests “in which participants attach themselves firmly to the roadway or to objects on the roadway (…)”. Karlsplatz is at the municipal disposal expressly mentioned. Violations can result in fines of up to 3000 euros. The protesters would then have to pay them in addition to the bill that the Munich police sent them for the use of “direct coercion”.
In addition, blockers are more likely to spend the Christmas holidays in preventive police custody in a Munich prison. Two protesters are currently still locked up, according to the current status until January 5th. However, it cannot be ruled out that they will be released earlier – according to the police, detectives from the state security department are constantly checking whether the conditions for preventive custody are still being met.
Seven activists free again
Not least because of this provision is controversial The Bavarian Police Tasks Act provides for the possibility of preventive custody, “to prevent the imminent commission or continuation of an administrative offense of considerable importance for the general public or a criminal offence”. The two people currently affected had been sent to preventive custody by a judge until the beginning of January because a “persistent repetition” of the road blockades had been determined. Although the detention is a police measure, the judge went well beyond the five-day period requested by the police.
On the other hand, seven activists who had been preventively detained by the responsible police headquarters in Ingolstadt in connection with the blockade of a runway at Munich Airport were released on Saturday as planned. Two of the women posed for a photo on Twitter in striped prison uniforms.