Munich (dpa / lby) – Less than three months after their sticking campaigns in downtown Munich, three climate activists were sentenced to fines by the Munich District Court on Tuesday. The two women and one man each received 30 daily rates of 15 euros because of joint coercion, as the court announced. On November 3, the activists and other participants stuck to the roadway or each other in the morning and again in the evening so that the central street at Stachus near the main train station was impassable for hours.
In the opinion of the court, however, motives for climate protection do not constitute a justification for committing criminal offences. “Sit-in blockades have no direct impact on climate change. It is also not apparent that the risk of climate change could be averted in any other way than by committing criminal offences “, it said in the message. Instead, one could influence the political opinion process by exercising the basic rights to freedom of opinion and assembly, the right to petition and the right to form political parties.
The blockade actions had attracted a lot of attention in the state capital because a considerable traffic jam formed and traffic had to be diverted. Those involved were then taken into preventive custody for several days. Some of the others have also already been sentenced to fines in the mid three-digit range in an accelerated process. However, the proceedings are not yet final.
In an accelerated procedure, there should be a maximum of six weeks between the receipt of the application by the court and the start of the main hearing. The public prosecutor’s office can make this request if the matter is suitable for immediate hearing due to the simple facts or the clear evidence. In contrast to conventional criminal proceedings, a decision on the opening of main proceedings is then not required.
