Ebersberg - Trial for abseiling from highway bridge during the IAA
More than two years after a sensational protest action by environmental activists on the Autobahn 94 near Munich, four people are facing legal proceedings. Three women and one man have been on trial at Ebersberg District Court since Wednesday. During the IAA motor show in September 2021, they are alleged to have been involved in an abseiling action from a highway bridge. As the freeway was closed, the Munich II public prosecutor's office is accusing the 21 to 29-year-old defendants of 192 counts of coercion.
According to the indictment, two of the accused rappelled down from the bridge near Poing to attach a large banner that read "Public transport instead of highway expansion", among other things. They then got stuck in the air on their climbing ropes above the roadway. The other two are said to have been responsible for securing the bridge. A short time later, the police closed the road towards Munich for around two and a half hours. The public prosecutor's office found that they had not complied with the request to end the operation.
There had already been a date for the main hearing on May 3. However, this had to be postponed for procedural reasons, according to the district court. As one of the defendants was still an adolescent at the time of the offense, the trial will take place before the juvenile court judge. The trial is due to continue on Thursday. Whether a verdict can be expected by then remains to be seen.
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- This protest action against climate-related issues, such as highway expansion, led to 192 counts of coercion being levied against the environmental activists by the Munich II public prosecutor's office.
- The public prosecutor's office in Munich is prosecuting four individuals, including three women and one man, for their involvement in the daring abseiling action during the IAA motor show in Munich in 2021.
- Despite being from different age groups, ranging from 21 to 29 years old, all defendants are currently being tried at the Ebersberg District Court.
- The environmental activists allegedly attached a banner that read "Public transport instead of highway expansion" during their abseiling action on the Autobahn 94 highway bridge near Poing.
- Despite the perceived importance of their message, the activists failed to comply with the public prosecutor's office's request to end their operation, which led to closure of the road towards Munich for approximately two and a half hours.
- The trial for these environmental activists has experienced multiple setbacks, with a delay in the main hearing due to procedural reasons and the need for the trial to take place before the juvenile court judge due to one defendant's age.
- Germany's environmental policy is under scrutiny due to such incidents, as the public debates the role of individual actions in addressing larger environmental issues, such as climate change.
- The local court in Ebersberg will continue the trial on Thursday, and the eventual verdict remains uncertain, raising questions about the impact of such protest actions on environmental policy and processes in Germany.
Source: www.stern.de
