National police officers arrest several Scientific Rebellion activists who threw red paint at Congress in April 2022.JJGuillen (EFE)
Climate activists protested in front of the House of Representatives in April 2022 and threw biodegradable red paint against the facade of the Lion Gate. They were later arrested and identified by police. Now the Madrid public prosecutor’s office is demanding 21 months in prison for 15 of them linked to the “Scientific Rebellion” movement, accusing them of a crime against historical heritage. One of the defendants for whom detention is requested is the philosopher Jorge Riechmann. There is no date for the trial yet. “It is a completely disproportionate demand, it was biodegradable paint and that same afternoon it was clean,” explains former MP Juan López de Uralde, who observed the events and wrote a letter in which he made more serious accusations against the activists withdrew, to EL PAÍS. “It is an example of an attempt to increasingly pursue climate activism,” he adds.
The protest came two days after the release of the latest major report from the IPCC, the United Nations group of experts that lays the groundwork for global warming. This concluded that global greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 and then fall dramatically in order to prevent the worst consequences of the climate emergency. But the climate plans of the world’s governments do not go in this direction, which is why the climate protests do not stop, both in front of Congress and at the Prado Museum or with road closures like the M-30 in Madrid.
The prosecutor’s letter recalls that the Congress is listed as a unique building in the catalog of protected buildings of the city of Madrid and has a recognized level of comprehensive Type I protection. For this reason, the representative of the Public Ministry accuses them of a crime against historical heritage and demands compensation of 2,593 euros from the State and a further 714 euros from the Madrid City Council. A total of around 3,300 euros.
The indictment recalls that on April 6, 2022, shortly before 10:00 a.m., a group of 15 people who “had previously arranged to meet among themselves” went to a protest demonstration in the Plaza de las Cortes in Madrid, where they had previously attended the Congress of Deputies together with other people due to the so-called “emergencies” arising from the so-called “climate change”.
Once there, armed with a liquid substance of organic composition, “possibly derived from the previous mixture of beets and their mixture with cocoa and/or another substance,” they threw this liquid substance into several areas of the main facade of the Congress building. MPs, “including the staircase, columns, portico, lion’s dais and part of the façade attached to the main bronze door.”
The reddish pigmented liquid substance caused damage to the property, “whose complete rehabilitation required, in addition to an initial cleaning with pressurized water by the Special Urgent Urban Cleaning Service of Madrid, at a cost of 713.57 euros, also a subsequent intervention on the property” through the application controlled and harmless cleaning systems for stones and mortars, whereby surfactants, brushes and absorption systems had to be used to eliminate the organic waste that remained mainly in the porous materials,” said the prosecutor. In total, these additional costs for the budget of the House of Representatives amounted to 2,592.69 euros.
Information is the first remedy against climate change. Subscribe to it.
Subscribe to
Finally, the Ministry of State emphasizes that the building of the Palace of the House of Representatives, located at Carretera de San Jerónimo n ° 39 in Madrid, is listed as a unique building in the catalog of protected buildings of the City of Madrid and has a recognized comprehensive level of protection Type I, in accordance with the provisions of the General Urban Planning Plan the city. In addition, by Ministerial Decree of June 4, 1977 of the Ministry of Education and Science, consequent to Article 11.1 of Law 16/1985, a procedure was initiated for its declaration as a cultural asset in the category of Monument June 25, of the Spanish Historical Heritage.
A “disproportionate” demand
Former Unidas Podemos deputy Juan López de Uralde – now Alianza Verde coordinator – was confronted with the action as he left Congress on April 6. “I saw climate activists protesting and chatted with them. Then they released biodegradable paint. The moment they took the people away, they were already cleaning it with hoses, and that same afternoon there was no trace left,” he points out.
“The public prosecutor’s order seems to me to be complete unjustified nonsense. The principle of proportionality applies in the judiciary and I believe that the request is absolutely disproportionate. There was no damage to the building, but they are nevertheless accused of damaging the cultural heritage.” After the arrests, López de Uralde wrote to the then President of the Lower House, Meritxel Batet, to defend the defendants: “They also wanted them to attack the state authorities accuse, which entails higher penalties, because they were said to have interrupted development.” the plenary session of the Congress. That was a lie. So I wrote to Batet and she denied it because it really had no impact on the meeting.” In his opinion, this demand for punishment is “an example of an attempt to increasingly persecute climate activism.”
You can follow CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT on Facebook and Xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter