Trial begins of 11 activists who blocked main artery in Lisbon
They entered the court shortly after 9am on Monday with carnations on their chests, “symbols of freedom, revolution and the fight against the system” – which, in their minds at least, is currently synonymous with the fight for climate justice.
These were the words repeated by the Climáximo group on the first of three days of the trial, writes SIC.
In the dock are 11 supporters of the group, aged between 20 and 58, accused of offences of civil disobedience and disruption of communications.
They risk prison sentences of more than a year.
“We know we’re doing the right thing,” said defendant Maria Mesquita.
At issue is the blockade of Avenida Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco on December 14 last year, when a group of nine activists sat on the ground, preventing cars from passing, and two others hung themselves from the overpass.
“It’s a political trial of 11 people who sat peacefully for half an hour, letting emergency cars pass, and are on trial with the possibility of being sentenced to prison for a year or more, which is completely surreal,” pointed out Climáximo‘s advisor , Mariana Rodrigues.
A programme of solidarity with the accused, the “April Assemblies”, is planned for the days of the trial.
Most of the activists refused to answer the judge’s questions during this morning’s session. Testifying on this first day of the trial are police officers from the intervention group called to the scene on the day of the blockade.
According to Lusa, 10 of the accused claim they did not hear the police ‘orders’ to disperse.
Lusa has further details about the morning session. It began with the defendants “expressing their intention to make a statement – but when it was realised that each one of them wanted to read a manifesto against the people and companies responsible for the environmental collapse, the judge prevented them from doing so, saying it was outside the scope of the case.
“This isn’t a climate trial, it’s about facts that occurred at a protest,” explained the judge.
The defendants’ defence is that the “case has to do with climate issues”
As Maria Mesquita explained,”the motivation” behind the roadblock was to fight and alert society to the collapse and climate crisis that endangers the lives of people and their families.
According to Maria Mesquita, what the activists did “was not an act of vandalism”, but a way of drawing attention to the problem of the climate crisis and the need for a “declared war” against companies that are killing the planet.
She reiterated the pledge that Climáximo will continue with its protest actions and that the “April Assemblies” set up by the movement will debate this week what priorities and measures should be taken in defence of the environment.
Source material: SIC Notícias/ Lusa
