Climate Activists’ Trial: Fighting for Environmental Justice and Freedom of Expression

2023-11-30 17:56:15

Three climate activists appeared this Thursday before the Liège criminal court. The courts accuse them of having stolen two banners for electric SUVs and of having tried to steal a third. They planned to use these tarpaulins later with other slogans.

The story begins on Quai Timmermans in Liège a year ago. Three activists spot an tarpaulin for an electric car. They have a cutter on the end of a long stick. They try to cut the ties of the tarpaulin. They are seen. The police arrive and take them away. In their car there are already two other tarpaulins.

The goal of these activists is to denounce the surrounding these electric cars: they are heavy. They pollute. They are not the solution, they assure. And the tax deductions for these cars don’t suit them. They plan to demonstrate and use these banners by diverting their slogans.

But the two tarpaulins found in the trunk of their car, the justice system does not know how long they had been there, nor where they came from, nor to whom they belonged. Besides, no one complains regarding having been deprived of it. As for the third, it was damaged, but was not taken away.

The lawyers did not need to be asked: they emphasize that the public prosecutor does not prove the theft. They demand that their clients be acquitted. Above all, they plead the state of necessity and freedom of expression. When we want to warn regarding the climate emergency, we must fight on equal terms with car manufacturers, they assure. Making banners yourself doesn’t have the same impact as a punchy action like this.

The judgment is announced for December 14.

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