UN expert raises concerns over German court use of criminal law against climate activists

A United Nations expert has voiced concerns over German prosecutors' decision to pursue criminal organisation charges against members of the climate activist group formerly known as Last Generation (Letzte Generation), warning the move risks undermining legitimate protest.

Mary Lawlor, UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders, said the use of Section 129 of Germany's Criminal Code was being "misused to sanction nonviolent acts motivated by wholly legitimate concerns about climate change and human rights" in a statement on social media platforms. The provision criminalises forming or being a member of a criminal organisation and carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Lawlor and other UN experts had written to Germany's government in December 2024 outlining concerns about the case, now before the Potsdam Regional Court in the east of the country. In a report to the UN General Assembly last year, Lawlor described the case as part of a broader trend of suppressing climate protest in Europe and worldwide. "This is a road toward destruction, and states must change course," she wrote.

The NGO Society for Civil Rights (GFF) said the law was meant to target covert criminal networks, not public protest movements, and warned the Potsdam case could have a chilling effect on civil society, according to a statement by Last Generation and RAZ e.V, a German non-profit providing support to activists and civil society groups facing legal action.

German authorities have charged a number of Last Generation activists over a series of road-blocking protests that ended in early 2024. Supporters have raised about 21,000 euros to help cover legal costs for the Potsdam defendants, with the group describing the case as "a trial against civic engagement – and therefore against all of us."