After a sticking action in the Berlin Picture Gallery, a climate activist was sentenced to four months in prison without parole. The 24-year-old from Bavaria, who had stuck herself to the wooden frame of the painting “Rest on the Flight into Egypt” by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553), was guilty of damaging property, the Tiergarten District Court justified the verdict.
The young woman was also on trial for taking part in a road blockade, for which she was convicted of attempted coercion and resisting law enforcement officers. According to a court spokeswoman, this is the first time a Berlin court has imposed a prison sentence without parole on climate activists following actions by the Last Generation group.
“It is unacceptable that parts of society do not comply with the law because of their goals,” said presiding judge Susanne Wortmann in her verdict. A suspended sentence is out of the question because the 24-year-old was unreasonable and said that she would continue to take part in similar activities. There were other numerous proceedings against the woman. There is no positive social prognosis.
The 24-year-old and another activist from the Last Generation group glued themselves to the frame with superglue in August 2022. Damage of 2385 euros was incurred, it said in a penalty order issued against the woman. In June 2022, the woman also sat down with three other activists on an exit on the Berlin city highway. The process came about because the 24-year-old had lodged an objection to the penalty order.
She explained in court that she had been taking part in Last Generation activities for more than a year. “I don’t get involved lightly and thoughtlessly,” she said. The protest in the picture gallery was symbolic. She studied design and appreciate cultural assets. “We made sure that the painting is protected by a pane of glass,” the woman said.
Her defense attorney said the wooden frame was not a work of art – it was purchased in 1952 for 60 marks and was not valuable. The defense attorney, who had asked for an acquittal, immediately appealed. A short video of the action, which was distributed via Twitter, also explains the connection between the action and the content of the painting.
In England, too, high prison sentences are currently being imposed for actions by climate activists. For example, two climate activists were sentenced to several years in prison a week ago because they temporarily blocked an important Thames bridge. The British news agency PA reported that a 40-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison. A 34-year-old man, who the BBC says is German, was sentenced to two years and seven months. They had previously been found guilty of disturbing public order.
The two activists from the Just Stop Oil group climbed onto the pillars of the Thames Bridge in Dartford, east of London, in early October last year. The suspension bridge is part of the ring road around the British capital and is one of the busiest traffic routes in the country. The two men climbed to a height of around 60 meters using professional climbing equipment, the BBC reported. The bridge had to be closed to traffic for 40 hours.
Judge Shane Colery at Southend Crown Court justified the harsh sentence with a deterrent effect. “You need to be punished for the mess you’ve made to stop others from imitating you,” he said at the sentencing hearing, according to the PA.
Sources: BBC, Last Generation Twitter account, DPA
