In these authoritarian times, it’s easy to be overwhelmed and isolated by the increased repression against activists fighting for a better world. The goal of this monthly bulletin is to gather some of the many court cases, calls for solidarity and resources, or trainings across Europe. Help us spread the word and ask your friends to sign up here.
NB: We know this is only a small selection, if you have any news, solidarity call out or resource you want us to include in the next bulletin – don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected]
NEWS & COURT CASES
Czech Republic
Limity jsme my has successfully hit its crowdfunding targets to support activists in the lawsuit against them for their 2018 protest against coal. “Thanks to a huge wave of solidarity and the great commitment of the fundraising group, we managed to raise over 85% of the money in the Darujme campaign, which is a massive success!” – huge thank you to everyone who contributed.
France
- – Content Warning – The European Court of Human Rights has declared France guilty in the death of a 21-yo environmental activist, Rémi Fraisse, in 2014 in Sivens, during the protests against a dam that would have only benefited industrial agriculture. A police grenade landed on top of the backpack and exploded right behind his head. French courts had previously let the police officer walk free of charges. Read more in the news articles in Huffington Post & Sudouest.
- After years of a very brutally repressed struggle against the A69 highway in France, the project has just been declared illegal by a French court on environmental grounds. The state can appeal, and probably will, but this is an incredible intermediate victory that celebrates the alliance between a wide range of activists, from farmers, to trade unionists, to students and locals. Read the official statement, news article or follow their instagram or Bluesky.
Germany
Lützi Mud Wizard dances away from prison time The prosecutor asked for 8 months in jail for Loic, but the judge decided instead on a 4200 euros fine.Thanks to a wave of solidarity, his legal costs are now covered! If you want to help support the payment of his fine, you can find the fundraiser link here: www.givesendgo.com/mudwizard and follow @MonchLutzi on Instagram / Mastodon and Bluesky.
Portugal
Earlier this year, five Climáximo supporters were sentenced to ~ 600 EUR fine and a suspended prison sentence of 1 year and 4 months each. This was after an action in October 2023 on Avenida 24 de Julho , where they sat peacefully on the road to warn about the climate emergency and the public policies that are destroying human living conditions. Read more on the Climaximo anti-repression newsletter.
Sweden
The union “ST Facket” sues the Swedish state for infringing on free speech over the firing of the “Rebel Mom” who had engaged in peaceful legal demonstrations in protest over climate inaction and was subsequently fired from her job at the Swedish energy agency. Read more about the lawsuit from the union on their newsite.
UK
The prison sentences for non-violent activists continue and in an unfortunate precedent the first british working doctor is sent to prison over a climate protest at a Just Stop Oil action in 2022. Read more here.
SOLIDARITY & CROWDFUNDING
Greenpeace
- Nine years after the world watched the Indigenous-led protests at the Dakota Access Pipeline unfold, representatives from Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA, and Greenpeace Fund are at a North Dakota courthouse defending against a US$300 million lawsuit brought by Energy Transfer. Learn more by watching and sharing this message from and join the call #WeWillNotBeSilenced & #ImWithGreenpeace
- In response to the North Dakota lawsuit, Greenpeace fights back by testing the new EU anti-SLAPP directive. For more information, legal briefs and sources – see the full press release.
Germany
- 4 Block Neurath activists threatened by a 1.2 million euro lawsuit. RWE is claiming after the 2021 blockade against their lignite power coal plant. Learn more on their website
- Vegan activist denied adequate food – after being sentenced to five months in prison for his involvement in two Last Generation road blockades. Despite being vegan and having health problems from eating a lot of gluten, he is denied a vegan and balanced diet in prison. To learn how to support their solidarity call out go to the Raz-Ev website.
RESOURCES & EVENTS
- New report: The Green Legal Spaces study highlights how the scope for civil society action in Germany has changed since 2019 with regard to the climate movement. Read the executive summary in English here.
- In February 2024, the UN Special Rapporteur released a position paper on State repression of environmental protest and civil disobedience including five calls to action to States on how to respond to environmental protest in compliance with their obligations under the Aarhus Convention and international human rights law. The current working draft of the Guidelines is available in the link above and is open to public consultation. The Special Rapporteur would be grateful to receive any comments by Monday, 31 March 2025 to: [email protected]
About Legally Green
Since autumn of 2022, the Movement Hub coordinates Legally Green – an informal network of lawyers who support activists across Europe and activist-led legal support groups. The network has over 100 members from over 60 organizations in more than 20 countries in Europe.
The network operates via mailing list and meets bi-monthly to share experience, discuss cases, trends, get help, learn from each other to increase our collective capacities to resist legal repressions. Contact [email protected] if you have any questions, or wish to join the network.
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