Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - Frankfurt's Goethe University has defended the criminal complaint against climate activists after a lecture hall was occupied. University Chancellor Albrecht Fester was in contact with the squatters early on and repeatedly offered to move the action to another lecture hall on the Bockenheim campus, the university announced on Wednesday. However, the activists refused and wanted to stay in one of the largest lecture halls on the Westend campus. "In the course of the occupation, numerous courses with several thousand participants had to be relocated to other premises or canceled during the day," said a statement from the university on Wednesday.
On Tuesday evening, the presidium finally decided to invoke the house rules and to file a criminal complaint against the occupiers. The decisive factor was, among other things, the lack of willingness to compromise on the part of the activists. The lecture hall was occupied on Tuesday afternoon by a group called "End Fossil: Occupy Frankfurt". According to the activists, they called for more climate justice, better study conditions for refugees and affordable housing.
According to the police, the activists had planned to besiege the room until at least Friday. After the criminal complaint, the majority of the approximately 50 people present complied with the request to leave. The others were led out of the room after their personal details had been determined.
