German police raided on Wednesday morning 15 locations linked to members of the climate action group Last Generation ("Letzte Generation"), the Munich public prosecutor's office said.
German authorities also shut down the website of the environmental group and seized two bank accounts and other assets related to it.
Seven members of the group, aged between 22 and 38 years old, are under investigation for "forming or supporting a criminal organisation." No arrests have been made, the police clarified.
The suspects are accused of collecting at least €1.4 billion to finance criminal activities, Deutsche Welle reports. The sum of money comes from an online call for donations.
Two of the suspects are also alleged to have partaken in sabotage attempts against the Ingolstadt-Trieste oil pipeline, which links Southern Germany to Northern Italy.
Around 170 police officers conducted raids in seven different German states. Four of them occurred in Berlin and three in Bavaria, the rest took place in Hamburg, Hesse, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, and Schleswig-Holstein.
Disruptive tactics
Last Generation are known for disruption tactics – like repeatedly blocking traffic in Berlin and other German cities – in order to demand stronger measures against climate change from the government. In the past year, members of the group glued themselves to highways and intersections and also targeted artworks, Deutsche Welle reports.
The group wants the government to implement a robust plan that can keep global warming levels to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels and want citizens' assemblies to be established in order to tackle climate change.
Just a few days before the raids, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz commented on the group's civil disobedience tactics, calling them "completely nutty."
Related News
- Prime Minister De Croo wants EU environmental standards put on pause
- First-ever Belgian biodiversity march takes place in Brussels
- 'Attendance over arrests': Extinction Rebellion UK renounce glue and blockades
"I think it’s completely nutty to somehow stick yourself to a painting or on the street," Scholz said on Monday, during a visit to an elementary school.
After Wednesday's raids, Last Generation tweeted a German media link describing the raids with a caption referencing the Chancellor's comments: "Raid lobby structures and seize government fossil funds - When? Nationwide raid. #CompletelyNutty," the group wrote.
Earlier this year, two Last Generation activists received prison sentences after glueing themselves to a street in the city of Heilbronn. The two men were sentenced to two and three months in prison.
