A group of climate activists has thrown red paint on the façade and one of the lions at the main entrance of the Congress of Deputies. The eight demonstrators have been quickly reduced and identified by members of the National Police.
The protest coincides with the start this Thursday of the trial of six of the fifteen members of Rebellion Científica who threw beetroot juice at Congress in April 2022, beginning a judicial process that some have labeled the “criminalization of the protest.”
Around 12 noon, a group of members of Futuro Vegetal, Rebellion Científica and Rebellion or Extinction poured a liquid that simulated biodegradable red ‘paint’ against the columns, the steps and one of the sculptures of the Congress.
For their part, the activists on trial, who in the investigation phase are accused of having committed two crimes -damage and public disorder, as they have been informed today-, have gone to court number 30 of Plaza de Castilla to provide prior statements on what happened last April.
There they have been received by some of their colleagues from the climate movement, they will also testify in the coming days -as is the case of the professor of the Autonomous University Jorge Riechmann-, investigated for the action of civil disobedience on the steps of Congress.
Days after the report of group III of the UN Intergovernmental Panel of Experts on Climate Change (IPCC) was published, several dozen activists and scientists threw beet juice on the façade of the building -which was hosting a plenary session that day- to demand immediate climate action.
Due to that protest, 15 members of Rebellion Científica were arrested and now, for each crime they are expected to be charged with -if the investigating judge finally so decides- they face sentences of up to 3 years in prison.
From Legalsol, the legal advice and legal defense collective that works with Rebelión Científica, once this process has begun, the rest of the activists are pending to declare, on April 13.
“CO2 emissions do not stop increasing and with the war in Ukraine and the increased use of coal, an increase of 14% is expected. The 2022 action precisely sought to alert the whole of society and the deputies of Congress about the seriousness of the climate crisis, making visible the criminal dimension of government inaction,” the activists said in a statement.
Scientific Rebellion insists that nonviolent civil disobedience actions are part of “the historical DNA of science committed to society.” “It is not terrorism, nor is it extremism, citizen rebellion is the moral obligation of all members of the scientific community,” they add.
“It is inadmissible – they affirm – that the State institutions that should protect their citizens dedicate efforts and resources to monitor, repress and detain scientists and activists of the climate movement for their non-violent commitment to the truth established by science climatic”.
The Rebelión o Extinción (XR) collective has called a rally in the Plaza de las Cortes, in front of the Congress of Deputies, this Thursday afternoon at 6:00 p.m. in support of the members of Rebellion Científica.
