Friday, September 13
Berlin police must reimburse Last Generation activists for glue-removal service fees
Until recently, Berlin police have been charging climate activists a kind of ‘service fee’ for un-gluing their hands (which activists had stuck to the street to disrupt traffic).
The specific case involved a climate activist from Last Generation who had glued his hands to a street intersection in June 2022, and was then removed by police. The authorities later demanded the activist pay a fee of €241 for the removal service.
In September 2023, the OVG ruled that there was no legal basis for this, but the police justified the fee citing a “threat to public safety and order” caused by the protester’s demonstration. In the court’s opinion, however, the protester had enough means to leave the street himself and the police removed him against his will. Now, the police must reimburse the activist for the fee, and in future will not be able charge other demonstrators for the same so-called service.
According to the Senate Interior Administration, by September 2023, the Berlin police had sent out almost 1,300 glue-removal fees to climate activists.
A ruling made on September 10th, by the Oberverwaltungsgericht Berlin (OVG), or Berlin Higher Administrative Court, rejected a police appeal against the decision, which was originally made by the administrative court last year.
Source: Berliner Zeitung
