A climate action with terrible consequences. Activists from the Last Generation group blocked the city highway in Berlin on Monday. At the same time, a cyclist (44) fell under a concrete mixer and was seriously injured. A special vehicle of the fire brigade, with the help of which the heavy truck had to be lifted, could not get through and got stuck in traffic due to the climate action. According to the newspaper Tagesspiegel, the emergency services of the fire brigade arrived after 19 minutes – 7 to 9 valuable minutes were lost in this way.
The crash cyclist († 44) was declared brain dead on Thursday. A 63-year-old and a 59-year-old are now under investigation, a spokesman for the German news agency said on Tuesday.
Will the responsible climate stickers end up behind bars? “In principle, a prison sentence is not excluded,” lawyer Dominik Brändli (40) told Blick. A roadblock can include coercion. “This is the case if people can no longer get away because of the blockade.” There is a risk of fines or imprisonment.
Three possible facts
Several things play a role in a judgment decision. The lawyer about Blick: “The assessment includes looking at how serious the circumstances of the crime were, what the motives are and whether someone has a criminal record.” If you have a criminal record, you are more likely to end up in jail. In this case, the climate activists risk a prison sentence of up to three years.
According to Brändli, in such a case, in particular, the following facts could also be satisfied: “The occurrence of an official act. The lack of emergency aid and the disruption of public transport. » What matters is the purpose behind it. Brändli to Blick: “These facts come into question if the climate activists saw or heard the fire engine and therefore knew that an emergency operation is underway.” Then the opponents can argue with a deliberate rescue impediment.
It is possible that the vehicle remained undiscovered by the activists and that they were unaware of the mission trip. In this case, the lawyer considers an extra sentence to be unlikely due to the waiting ambulance.
The fatal incident sparked a heated debate in Germany. For the Berlin police it is clear: this form of activism puts people at risk. “Now you have to say goodbye to the fairy tale of innocent protest,” Benjamin Jendro, Berlin police spokesman, told Bild. “Anyone who blocks traffic routes risks and hinders the ability of homeland security to act and also consciously accept that people in need have to wait longer for help from police and firefighters.”