The Italian parliament significantly increased fines for protests. The British parliament gave police more powers to crack down on protests if they are too noisy. Several German cities banned protesters from sitting in the streets. In the German state of Bavaria, activists were detained for weeks without charge in an attempt to stop protests. In France, an environmental group was briefly banned after the government accused it of inciting violence.
Forst reports that anti-terrorism laws have been used to keep activists under surveillance. Activists' homes have been searched, their phones and computers confiscated, and some have been preemptively arrested for merely saying they were planning a protest. Police have used water cannons, pepper spray, tear gas, and flash-bang grenades to disperse protesters. Once detained, protesters say they were stripped naked, verbally and physically abused, and held without charge for days. Journalists covering the protests have also been rounded up.
Forst, who the UN created the role in 2021 following growing reports of state persecution of environmental activists, attended the trial of Hallam and his co-defendants. Prosecutors charged that they were part of a “conspiracy to cause public nuisance.” Under laws that come into force in 2022, British courts can impose up to 10 years in prison on defendants found guilty of “nuisance” activities such as peaceful demonstrations.
“This is a dark day for everyone who cares about the peaceful environmental movement, the protection of environmental activists and the exercise of fundamental freedoms in the UK,” Forst said in a statement after one of the sentences was handed down. “Five years in prison for simply taking part in a Zoom meeting is outrageous,” he told me.
In his report to the UN, Forst said governments including Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands had created “a climate of fear and intimidation towards environmental activists”, and that politicians, parliamentarians, commentators and other public figures had used words like “extremists”, “eco-terrorists” and the “Green Taliban” to describe the environmental movement.
