Protest actions in Frankfurt: More than 140 criminal proceedings for actions by "Last Generation"

Hesse's Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU) has sharply criticized the protests of the climate activists of the "last generation".

Almost every action in Frankfurt was punishable, said the minister in the interior committee of the Hessian state parliament on Thursday in Wiesbaden.

"This is not a legitimate protest for a good cause, but a targeted attack on our infrastructure."

The police protect freedom of assembly.

However, this also has its limits, emphasized Beuth.

This is always the case when criminal or administrative offenses are committed or when the fundamental rights of uninvolved third parties are infringed upon.

"These radical activists accept that bystanders could be harmed." Those who block freeways are carelessly endangering human lives.

"This has nothing to do with civil disobedience or peaceful protest, this is an attempt at political blackmail by a political splinter group that makes a mockery of democratic decision-making."

Spilled oily liquid

The climate activists of the "last generation" had blocked traffic junctions in Frankfurt for several days in April and also stuck to the street.

In addition, an oily liquid was poured onto the roadway of two Main bridges in Frankfurt, which according to the police caused four cyclists to fall.

Among other things, the group is calling for the expansion and financing of fossil infrastructure projects to be stopped.

Because of the actions, there were more than 220 provisional arrests, the interior minister said.

More than 140 criminal proceedings had been initiated.

A total of 57 people who had repeatedly appeared criminally in connection with blockade actions were brought before a judge and in some cases had to spend several days in police custody.

On the seven main days of operations, more than 400 police officers were on duty every day solely to deal with the blockades.

Around 30,000 operating hours were incurred.

"The previous actions are punishable in almost all cases and must be punished accordingly," demanded the domestic spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Stefan Müller.

"Protest must be expressed in a clean way that respects the rule of law." It should never go so far that other people are endangered or "literally slowed down" by road blockades, explained Müller.