– 6 months in prison without parole for supporters of the Last Generation –
Heidelberg, December 06.12.2023th, 09, 00:XNUMX a.m – Moritz Riedacher was sentenced yesterday to six months in prison without parole for his climate protest. At the hearing before the Heidelberg district court, the public prosecutor even demanded a year in prison without parole.
Last October, Riedacher protested for constitutional climate policy by spraying the main building of Heidelberg University with orange paint over a large area on October 16.10.2023, XNUMX using a converted fire extinguisher. This location was deliberately chosen because universities are still not living up to their responsibilities in the current emergency. The Excellence University of Heidelberg also lacks a clear position against the federal government's deadly and illegal policies.
In his verdict, the presiding judge expressed his incomprehension of Riedacher's protest and recommended that he resort to other means, such as petitions.
Rolf Meyer (56) Speaker of the Last Generation: “For 30 years, all petitions, demonstrations, parties and court rulings have failed to persuade the German state to take sufficient climate protection measures. Thousands of people paid for this failure with their lives. If we fail to break the cycle of failure, millions, perhaps even billions, of people will pay with their lives. That's why protests must take place now, which will make the public aware of the drama of the situation and encourage them to rethink. That's exactly what Moritz Riedacher did."
"Instead of pursuing Moritz overzealously, the public prosecutor and judge involved should consider whether it would make more sense to finally hold the fossil fuel criminals in the oil companies and their accomplices on the government bench accountable. Why should those who want to preserve our common good be imprisoned while those who destroy it never face consequences?“, Meyer continued.
Riedacher, however, does not give up. Immediately after his conviction, he announced in a video message that he would continue to take part in peaceful protests. This is despite the fact that he now faces a total of 17 months in prison from several convictions.
"This today is not my first and only judgment. But what I want to tell you is that we as citizens in this country have the opportunity to get involved [...]. It now takes all of us, our collective effort.“, directs Moritz Riedacher Shortly after his conviction, he made an appeal to his fellow human beings. [1]
[1] x.com/AufstandLastGen/status/1732076442874237359?s=20