Fürstenfeldbruck (dpa/lby) - In an upcoming trial against three climate protection activists who had abseiled down from a motorway bridge during the IAA Motor Show, the judge responsible expects a lower sentence than the public prosecutor's office. The trial before the Fürstenfeldbruck district court is not taking place in front of a lay judge, as requested, but was admitted to a hearing before a single judge, as a court spokesman said on Friday.
That means the judge in charge doesn't think last year's rappelling was a felony carrying a minimum sentence of one year or a misdemeanor carrying a sentence of up to four years in prison. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 2nd.
The public prosecutor's office accuses the three defendants - two women and a man aged 25 and 39 - of abseiling down from a bridge over the Autobahn 96 near Germering on September 7, 2021 in protest against the IAA and hanging up a banner or this action to have photographed. This triggered a complete blocking of the direction of travel. The public prosecutor's office is therefore accusing the trio of coercion in 1296 cases - so many people would have stood in the resulting traffic jam and were prevented from continuing their journey for around one and a half hours.
