At the beginning of August, activists from the Last Generation blocked traffic on the Poniatowski Bridge and near the National Stadium before one of the concerts of the American singer Taylor Swift. The court issued a penal order and punished the activists with a reprimand. At the same time, they reported that their actions were “civil disobedience.” Due to the objection, the judgment became invalid. There will be a trial.
On Monday, activists from the Last Generation informed in a press release about the “landmark judgment” that was passed in the District Court for Warsaw Praga-PoÅ‚udnie. – Last week, I and 12 other people from the Last Generation received mandatory sentences in matters of blocking traffic: on the Poniatowski Bridge and before the Taylor Swift concert. The court decided to punish us with a reprimand, which is the lowest possible penalty in this case. The justification for these verdicts is groundbreaking and may have historical significance for the fight for a world without climate collapse in Poland. The judge considers the blockades an act of civil disobedience and takes into account the key context of the climate crisis, said Zofia Sobczak, one of the punished activists, quoted in the press release.
In the same message, The Last Generation quotes fragments of the justification for the injunction judgment. The court “considered the acts accused of the activists a form of civil disobedience that served to show society the values ​​close to the accused.”
“In this case, it was outrage over the abuse of air transport, private planes generating very high CO2 emissions in relation to the number of people traveling on them, including music stars. This translates into their lower social harmfulness than in the case of obstructing traffic by e.g. incorrect parking” – we read in the justification quoted by the Last Generation.
The court, as the Last Generation informs, also stated in its justification that “the problem reported by the accused has a real impact on the lives of citizens, as evidenced by the recent flood in southern Poland, the effects of which as of the date of this judgment still affect thousands of people and on a global scale – millions.” .
The judgment has lost its force
We asked the District Court for Warsaw Praga-PoÅ‚udnie about the penal order (it is issued without a trial – editor) and its justification. It turned out that it was no longer valid.
“Five activists were sentenced for blocking traffic on August 2, 2024 and failure to comply with orders given by a Police officer to behave in a specific manner by the penal order of the District Court for Warsaw Praga-PoÅ‚udnie in Warsaw of October 1, 2024,” said Katarzyna Brogosz from the Court. District Warsaw-Praga. “The findings indicate that the other participants in the event could have been sentenced by other Warsaw courts,” added the court representative.
She also explained why the judgment was no longer valid. “It contained a justification, but due to the fact that an objection was filed against the order judgment, it lost its validity,” Brogosz said.
According to Article 506, paragraph 3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, “in the event of an objection, the penal order shall lose its force; the case shall be examined under general principles.”
There will be a trial in this case.
Why is the Last Generation protesting?
Activists appear on the main arteries of the capital, their blockades are usually short, but they cause emotions. They are particularly troublesome because they usually take place during the morning rush hour.
The Last Generation is a civic campaign whose members want to force the government to start – as they say – taking the health and safety of citizens seriously in times threatened by climate collapse. They started operations in Poland at the beginning of March. In April this year, they carried out several traffic blockades. They sat on the roads of the capital's bridges, but also on MarszaÅ‚kowska and Aleje Jerozolimskie. They stuck to the asphalt. Usually, the blockades were immediately interrupted by the police who carried away the activists.
Main photo source: The Last Generation