Human rights experts voice concern over European crackdown on climate protesters

Human rights experts and campaigners have warned against an intensifying crackdown on climate protests across Europe, The Guardian reported yesterday, October 12, adding that research found countries across the continent using repressive measures to silence activists.

In Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK, authorities have responded to climate protests with mass arrests, the passing of draconian new laws, the imposing of severe sentences for non-violent protests and the labelling of activists as hooligans, saboteurs or eco-terrorists.

The crackdowns have come in spite of calls by senior human rights advocates and environmental campaigners to allow civic space for the right to non-violent protest, after a summer of record-breaking heat in southern Europe that is attributed to the effects of climate breakdown.

According to Michel Forst, the UN rapporteur on environmental defenders since June last year, there is an increasing number of cases by which climate activists are brought to court more and more often and more and more severe laws are being passed to facilitate these attacks on defenders.

Amnesty International says it is investigating a continent-wide crackdown on protest. Catrinel Motoc, the organisation’s senior campaigner on civil space and right to protest in Europe, said: “People all around the world are bravely raising their voices to call for urgent actions on the climate crisis but many face dire consequences for their peaceful activism.”