German police have raided and searched seven states as part of an investigation into the activities of environmental activists suspected of forming or supporting “criminal groups”, reports the BBC.
Austrian police while trying to free an activist stuck with asphalt glue. Photo: Profimedia Images
Austrian police while trying to free an activist stuck with asphalt glue. Photo: Profimedia ImagesProtesters throwing paint on a window. Photo: Profimedia ImagesAround 170 police officers participated in Wednesday’s operation – personal apartments and other premises and buildings in Berlin, Bavaria, Dresden, Hamburg, etc. were searched. Photo: Profimedia imagesProtester stuck to the asphalt, at a Letzte Generation protest. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesFor months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt. Photo: Profimedia ImagesProtesters throwing paint on a window. Photo: Profimedia ImagesPhoto: Profimedia Images,
Seven people between the ages of 22 and 38 are suspected of being involved in criminal activities related to environmental activism. The police also searched the personal homes of the suspected activists.
For months, the organization Letzte Generation disrupted traffic in several German cities and protested in bizarre ways – throwing mashed potatoes at works of art or sticking to walls and asphalt.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned these activities as “downright crazy”.
Around 170 police officers participated in Wednesday’s operation – personal apartments and other premises and buildings in Berlin, Bavaria, Dresden, Hamburg, etc. were searched. The organization’s website was also shut down and two bank accounts were frozen.
The seven suspects are accused of organizing a fund-raising campaign of at least 1.4 million euros, money that was supposed to be used to finance “new criminal acts”.
German police and prosecutors say the purpose of the raids was to establish the organization’s structure.
Letzte Generation criticized the police operation using the chancellor’s own words and calling it “downright crazy”. The organization’s representatives rhetorically asked the authorities “when they will also investigate the lobbying structures and when they will confiscate the money from fossil fuels”.
Another environmental organisation, Ende Gelaende, said the raids were targeting people “trying to draw attention to the climate crisis and those responsible for it”.
The organization makes transnational protests and has “wings” in several European countries
Letzte Generation is campaigning for a 100km/h speed limit and last week blocked 12 streets in Berlin after its members glued themselves to asphalt or cars. These protests caused the anger of drivers towards the protesters.
The organization also played a central role in protests against the expansion of a coal mine in the village of Luetzerath in January, where Greta Thunberg was also briefly detained.
Last October, two activists threw mashed potatoes at a Claude Monet painting at a museum in Potsdam, near Berlin, and then stuck it to a wall with glue. Similar protests were made by members of the British organization Just Stop Oil.
Letzte Generation is not only active in Germany, however. Two activists taped to an area outside the Austrian parliament in Vienna on Wednesday, violating a ban on protests outside the building.
In Italy, three activists were summoned to court on Wednesday after they glued themselves to an ancient sculpture in the Vatican museum last August.
Activists from Ultima Generazione also painted the Trevi Fountain in Rome black as a message of protest against the use of fossil fuels.
