The man was sentenced to one year and ten months in prison at the Tiergarten District Court, a court spokeswoman said. He was guilty of coercion, attempted coercion and resisting law enforcement officers. The verdict is not final.
The trial concerned road blockades in which the 65-year-old had participated and, according to the spokeswoman, had also glued himself to the road. A total of 40 cases were judged. The public prosecutor’s office had reportedly demanded more than two years in prison, while the defense pleaded for acquittal. The court will now justify the verdict in writing. The trial began in November 2023.
Relatively early on, the court made a plea bargain proposal. The man was offered a one-year suspended prison sentence in return for a confession, it was said. However, the defense did not agree to this.
Activist wants to appeal
The “Last Generation” wrote in a statement that the 65-year-old wanted to appeal against the verdict. It was clear that the judiciary did not know how to deal with the protest. The verdict was a departure from law and order, said the defendant’s defense in the statement. “Instead of balancing the conflicting fundamental rights as required by the constitution, enemy criminal law is being applied here.”
Just in July, a climate activist was sentenced to one year and four months in prison after paint attacks and street blockades in Berlin. At the beginning of August, the “Last Generation” Austria announced that it would end its protests, such as sticking things to streets, as well as other forms of activism.
