The convicts are a 22-year-old woman and two men aged 28 and 64. They previously admitted that, together with other climate activists, they used prepared water extinguishers to spray yellow and orange paint on the pillars of the Brandenburg Gate on September 17, 2023.
With her verdict, the judge largely followed the prosecutor’s requests. The defense lawyers for the three defendants had called for acquittals. Their clients did not expect the paint to remain on the Brandenburg Gate for so long, they said in their pleas. This was only the case because the responsible company did not remove the paint in a timely manner.
In fact, the restorer responsible for the maintenance of the Brandenburg Gate stated that the paint in the lower area was successfully washed off with water on September 17th. The contracted company did not clean the upper part of the columns on the day of the crime because they were unable to find a lifting platform that day, a Sunday.
Only the next day was the upper part of the columns cleaned with water using a lifting platform, the restorer continued. At that point the paint had already dried out so much that this was no longer possible. Therefore, a more complex process with special cleaning agents became necessary. This lasted until November 2023.
A first trial in the district court against two activists failed at the first attempt at the end of March. The main trial against the 20 and 21 year old men is to begin again. The reason for the suspension were different opinions about the amount of costs for the cleaning work at the Brandenburg Gate.
