Demonstrations - Classify the last generation as a criminal group?
Will the climate protection group Letzte Generation also be classified as a criminal organization in Berlin in future? Attorney General Margarete Koppers is at least investigating whether the previous assessment of the Berlin public prosecutor's office has changed. Koppers told the German Press Agency that one reason for this was the group's "more serious crimes" in her view, particularly with regard to paint attacks on the symbolic Brandenburg Gate, which caused considerable financial damage.
In addition, Koppers explained that a decision had now been made by the Munich Regional Court in the preliminary proceedings of the Munich Public Prosecutor General's Office. In November, the regional court had ruled that nationwide searches of members of the Last Generation on suspicion of membership of a criminal organization were lawful. According to the Munich judges, the Munich district court had rightly assumed that there was sufficient initial suspicion that the Last Generation could be a criminal organization prior to the search last May.
Koppers emphasized that the order to examine the public prosecutor's office was made with an open mind. "We are exercising technical supervision here and are not taking the place of the public prosecutor's office. We will analyze the opinion requested. If it is justifiable, I will accept it," explained the Attorney General.
Activists from the group have been repeatedly convicted by various courts across Germany in recent months, including after street blockades, but mostly for other offenses such as coercion. In comparison, a conviction for forming a criminal organization could result in harsher sentences - possibly up to five years in prison.
Last summer,Berlin's Senator for Justice Felor Badenberg (non-party) had her office examine whether the group should be classified as a criminal organization. The reason for this was that the Potsdam district court in neighboring Brandenburg had seen an initial suspicion that the climate group could be a criminal organization.
In Berlin, the initial suspicion was denied by the public prosecutor's office. The Senate Justice Administration did not object to this even after the investigation. However, this was not clear. The question could not be "answered unequivocally", according to the authority's internal "audit note" dated July 11, which is available to the German Press Agency. Rather, the public prosecutor's office was entitled to an "original scope of assessment", it said at the time.
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- The climate protection group Letzte Generation has also faced scrutiny in Munich, as the Munich Regional Court ruled that nationwide searches of its members were lawful.
- The investigation into the Berlin public prosecutor's office's assessment of Letzte Generation by Attorney General Margarete Koppers is partly due to their "color attack" on the Brandenburg Gate, causing significant financial damage.
- Koppers emphasized that the review of the public prosecutor's office is being conducted with an open mind and that she will accept their opinion if found justifiable.
- Activists from Letzte Generation have recently been convicted for various offenses across Germany, such as street blockades, but no conviction for forming a criminal organization has been secured yet.
- In Berlin, the initial suspicion of the group being a criminal organization was denied by the public prosecutor's office, with the Senate Justice Administration not objecting to their decision.
- The German Press Agency has obtained an internal "audit note" dated July 11, which reveals that the public prosecutor's office was entitled to an "original scope of assessment" and that the question of Letzte Generation being a criminal organization could not be answered unequivocally.
- Letzte Generation's demonstrations in the name of climate protection have sparked debates about whether they could be classified as a criminal group, possibly leading to harsher sentences, such as up to five years in prison.
Source: www.stern.de
