A-49 opponent: prosecutors demand prison sentence for "Ella"

In the appeal process against an environmental activist, prosecutors have asked for two years and four months in prison for the accused.

In her pleading on Wednesday before the district court in Giessen, the prosecutor accused the woman of having “trampled with her feet” the rule of law.

With her actions she has moved "miles" away from legitimate protest and civil disobedience.

The trial was again accompanied by protests from supporters of the accused.

The case is related to the protests against forest clearing for the new Autobahn 49 in central Hesse.

The A-49 opponent is said to have kicked a police officer in the face and head at a height of around 15 meters when clearing a protest camp in the Dannenröder forest in autumn 2020 and kneed another officer in the face.

The accused, whose identity is unknown and who is called "Ella", is in custody.

Assault and resistance to police officers

The woman was not concerned with climate protection, but with her fight against the rule of law and democracy, said the prosecutor.

She was also not a victim of arbitrary police violence.

The prosecutor saw the allegations against the activist as confirmed and referred to videos of the incident and witness statements.

She also has no reason to assume that the police officers in court - despite gaps in memory and deviations from earlier statements - deliberately made false statements.

At the beginning of the trial in January, the defendant stated that she had acted out of a "survival instinct".

She was held and beaten by the police, and in her fear she instinctively resisted.

It was still unclear whether the next day of the trial on April 1st would be a plea for the defense and a verdict.

The proceedings last dragged on because the court had to deal with various applications for evidence from the defense.

The chamber rejected all of these on Wednesday, on the grounds that the purpose was to delay the proceedings.

On the previous day of the trial, the defense had already requested that the presiding judge be dismissed for bias.

According to a court spokesman, this has now been rejected.

In the first instance, the accused had been sentenced to two years and three months in prison for, among other things, dangerous bodily harm and resistance to law enforcement officers.