Jesuit activist fined for blocking a road
Even though the judge showed some empathy for the cause of the action, she pointed out that she had to abide by the law. Photo jesuiten.org
Central Europe
A German Jesuit has to pay a fine. During a climate protest, he blocked the road together with other protestors.
Jesuit Jörg Alt (61) from Nuremberg must pay a fine of 10 euros in total. This is not much, but as a religious leader, Alt does not have an income. At the same time, he is satisfied with the verdict, as there "was a lot of useful stuff in it", he said, as reported by Jesuiten.org. His fellow demonstrators were sentenced to fines of 150 and 400 euros.
The three had blocked a road at Munich's Karlsplatz in front of the Palace of Justice. They campaigned for Scientist Rebellion against global warming and wanted politicians to take action. The blockade lasted for about 90 minutes.
This action fulfilled the requirements of coercion, the district court in Munich ruled. Even though the judge showed some empathy for the cause of the action, she pointed out that she had to abide by the law, Religion.orf reports. According to her, there was no justifying emergency for the road blockade, and she weighed the requirement for democracy higher than the necessity of climate protection.
Vigil
Before the first hearing took place at the beginning of May, some members of the Jesuit Order held a vigil in front of the court. Also, Scientist Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion joined the action. They pointed out that they protested against the lack of action of politicians against climate change.
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