For two and a half years, climate activists have been demonstrating in Augsburg next to the town hall for more climate protection. The activists also sometimes stage protests outside of the climate camp. Such an action brought a 34-year-old to court.
Augsburg (dpa / lby) - A person responsible for the Augsburg climate camp has been fined after an occupation by the Swabian government. The 34-year-old was found guilty on Monday by the Augsburg district court of trespassing and other crimes. The accused had demonstrated together with two other people in October 2022 at the government authority in Augsburg against forest clearing.
He had admitted to occupying the authority, but denied the crimes he was accused of. A house ban was never issued, and the acts were justified as a justifying emergency because of climate change, he said. But he could not assert himself with that. Ultimately, he was fined 2,100 euros (140 daily rates of 15 euros each). The prosecutor had asked for a six-month suspended sentence.
At the time, the then Swabian government president was accused of corruption in a press release by the climate camp because the authorities had given permission before the trees were felled. This press release was sent from the 34-year-old's email address. However, since it could not be proven that the accused had written the e-mail himself and sent it personally, this charge was dropped. The climate activist had said that different people had access to his email account.
Nevertheless, he was also convicted for the insulting statements. Because in front of the authorities, the accusation of corruption was also written on the street. In addition, a witness testified that the accused had also called out of the window during the action that the top official had allowed himself to be bribed.
This was assessed by the judge as defamation directed against a public figure. The 34-year-old has a relevant criminal record for a similar act. Ultimately, he was also convicted of a floor banner that was illegally stuck up in the area of a fire brigade access road at the climate camp.
The man is one of the heads of the climate camp in Augsburg. The camp was initiated by Fridays for Future in mid-2020 and has since been run as a permanent demonstration next to the town hall. Similar climate camps have also been set up in other cities, but Augsburg is the oldest uninterrupted camp in Germany. The protest camp is a thorn in the side of the city of Augsburg. The municipality's attempt to dissolve the camp has so far failed in court.
