Five-fold acquittal in Leipzig – district court considers road blockade to be justified

In order to assess whether the protest is justified, freedom of assembly and freedom of movement must be weighed up, said the judge. Traffic had been backed up for fifty minutes. In her consideration, she came to the conclusion that the right of assembly prevails in this case.
The judge also stated that a state of emergency, which is often used by the last generation to justify peaceful protest, was caused by the climate crisis.

Mike Grunst (23) comments on the acquittal before the court: “The climate catastrophe threatens our survival, our society and democracy as a whole. The fact that there are judges who have the courage to stand up for the protection of our fundamental rights and legitimize our necessary protest gives me hope.”

She adds: “Even acquittals are of no use to us if the government continues to break the law unhindered. We will continue to protest and exercise our freedom of assembly. In order to protect our democracy, peaceful resistance from the population is now needed.”

Maike Gerdes immediately put her words into action together with the other recently acquitted supporters of the Last Generation. At the moment they are interrupting Leipzig traffic on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße and making it clear: the climate emergency cannot be postponed.