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German climate activists sentenced for spraying paint on Brandenburg Gate

A German court on Tuesday handed down suspended eightmonth jail sentences to 3 environment activists who sprayed orange paint on the columns of Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate last September to require a. stop to using fossil fuels by 2030.

The activists were supporters of the Last Generation. climate activists group, which had actually made headings in Germany. with hundreds of road obstructs by protesters who glued themselves. to tarmac.

The offenders, aged in between 22 and 64, admitted their. involvement and said their intention was to object against the. federal government's environment policy, Berlin Tiergarten District. Court said in a statement.

The jail sentences were suspended for 2 years however could. be implemented if the accuseds commit new offenses.

This two-year suspension of this sentence basically suggests. that these people can no longer be politically active without. needing to go to jail, Mirjam Hermann, a lawyer at the Assistance. for Active Civil Society (RAZ) association, told .

The defence lawyers said they would appeal the verdict which. they said was not a suitable reaction to civil disobedience.

The reasons for the judgment program that the judge did not. wish to clarify the facts in an impartial way, defence. lawyer Inga Schulz stated in a statement.

In evaluating the penalty, the court stated it took into. account the reality that a nationwide monolith was harmed as a. result of the occurrence in addition to the financial damage.

In the trial, a worker of a repair business included. in the cleaning of the monument was questioned, the court stated,. adding that the paint triggered product damage totaling up to around. 110,000 euros.

The offender's specified goal of attaining a modification in. environment policy does not validate such an action. In a democracy. there are other ways to achieve one's political objectives, the. court included.

The Last Generation, a Germany-based group within the. Europe-wide A22 network that consists of Britain's Simply Stop Oil,. said the verdict was drastic and required a rally in front of. the Brandenburg Gate in action to the ruling.

The orange Brandenburg Gate must advise us that modification. and for that reason a life according to our common worths - humankind,. justice, honesty - is possible, said Lina Johnsen, a. representative for the group.