#Surveillance, #raids and #arrests: #Europe cracks down on ‘#DirectAction’ #climate protests
Some countries are invoking legal powers often used against #OrganisedCrime and #extremist groups.
By Euronews Green with Reuters
Published on August 10, 2023
"#SimonLachner had plans to glue himself to a German city thoroughfare in June to call public attention to #ClimateChange. Instead, he ended up in police custody before he'd even left his home.
"Lachner, 28, is one of thousands of #activists caught up in a European crackdown on direct action protests which gathered pace last year. #Protesters are demanding urgent government action against climate change.
"#Roadblocks on major motorways in #Britain have caused traffic chaos, protests at #oil installations in #Germany have disrupted supplies, and in #France, thousands of activists and police clashed over #water usage, leaving dozens injured.
"Determined to prevent such protests from strengthening further, states in Germany and national authorities in France are invoking legal powers often used against organised crime and extremist groups to wiretap and track activists, Reuters found, based on conversations with four prosecutors, #police in both countries and more than a dozen protesters.
"In #Berlin alone, police have spent hundreds of thousands of hours working on more than 4,500 incidents registered against the 'The #LastGeneration' and '#ExtinctionRebellion' groups, according to previously unreported data from police.
"State authorities in Germany are widely using preventative #detention to stop people from protesting, including holding at least one person for as long as 30 days without charge.
"This is permissible under Bavarian law, the prosecutors consulted by Reuters said.
"Lawmakers passed new surveillance and detention laws in France in July and in Britain in May. Britain is making it illegal to lock, or glue, yourself to property.
"France has used an anti-terrorism unit to question some #ClimateActivists, the police confirmed to Reuters.
"The governments in Germany and Britain said the response to the protests was aimed at preventing damaging criminal actions. The French government declined to comment but has previously said the state must be able to combat what it calls 'radicalisation'.
"Activists say they turned to direct action after the failure of other protest strategies. #CivilDisobedience has a long history in #SocialMovements, including in the fight for the vote for women and the US #CivilRghts movement."
Full article:
https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/08/10/surveillance-raids-and-arrests-europe-cracks-down-on-direct-action-climate-protests
#BigOilAndGas #Fascism
#Corporatocracy #ClimateJustice #OilAndGasIndustry #Environment #HumanRights
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