Brandenburg Gate smeared - Paint attack: climate activists sentenced to leisure work
After the color attack on the Brandenburg Gate approximately ten months ago, two more climate activists from the group Letzte Generation have been sentenced. The Amtsgericht Tiergarten imposed 200 hours and 180 hours of community service on the two 21-year-olds for damaging property. Crimes should not be tolerated, the judgment read. There are other means of protest.
The two young adults were reportedly among the twelve members of the climate group Letzte Generation involved in the action on September 17, 2023. Climate activists sprayed orange paint on the landmark using prepared fire extinguishers. According to the indictment, approximately 55,000 euros in cleaning costs resulted from the paint attack. The estimated total damage is said to be 115,000 euros.
The accused wore clothing with prominent paint stains
The two defendants, who are from Leipzig and Nuremberg, wore clothing with prominent paint stains. "The paint comes from the action," they explained on the sidelines. However, the used paint was water-soluble. It was not their intention to cause permanent damage to the Brandenburg Gate.
The decision was made under the milder youth criminal law. The judge came close to the demand of the prosecution, which had requested 220 hours of community service for an accused person already sentenced in an earlier trial for participation in a roadblock, and 200 hours for the other defendant. The defense demanded acquittal. An appeal is possible against the judgment.
Already at the end of April, three of the activists involved in the paint attack had been sentenced. The Amtsgericht Tiergarten imposed suspended sentences of eight months for the 22, 28, and 64-year-old defendants. It was not a "suitable or proportionate protest," the judgment stated at the time. In a democracy, there are other ways to achieve political goals. The climate demonstrators had damaged a national monument. The judgment is not yet legally binding.
- The color attack on the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, involving orange paint and fire extinguishers, led to significant damage to property and environmental cleanup costs, estimated to be around 115,000 euros.
- The Tiergarten Local Court recently handed down sentences for two climate activists, with 200 and 180 hours of community service for their involvement in the property damage.
- The criminal proceedings against the activists from Letzte Generation highlighted the delicate balance between upholding justice and allowing peaceful demonstrations against climate change.
- During the color attack, many protesters wore clothing with prominent paint stains, including the two defendants from Leipzig and Nuremberg, who later explained that the paint came from the action but was water-soluble.
- The Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of German unity and history, remained unharmed from the damage intended, thanks in part to the use of water-soluble paint and swift action by emergency services with fire extinguishers.
- As this case continues to make headlines, discussions on the role of criminality and the environment in shaping modern protests, as well as the importance of Tiergarten Local Court's decisions in upholding the rule of law, continue to emerge both in Berlin and abroad.
