Political majority supports higher fines for illegal climate activists
The prime minister's Liberal Party would like to see fines for illegal demonstration actions raisedTaking part in illegal climate demonstration will cost up to 15,000 kroner under a Liberal proposal
A proposal to toughen penalties for participating in illegal demonstrations during the UN Climate Conference in December has the support of a majority in parliament.
The prime minister’s Liberal Party hopes hiking the fines to as much as 15,000 kroner for offences such as breaking through police cordons will have the projected 30,000 activists expected in Copenhagen during the summit thinking twice before getting out of hand.
The current fine for such an offence is 600 kroner. The fine for participating in an illegal demonstration is also 600 kroner, but would rise to 10,000 kroner under the proposal.
Other violations that would see stiffer fines include wearing a mask during a demonstration, vandalism and taking part in riots.
The proposal also calls for the elimination of reduced penalties for people between the age of 15 and 18 engaging in civil disturbances.
Activists and police agree that the increased fines were unlikely to have a significant effect on the number of activists calling on Copenhagen during the summit.
‘Activists engage in civil disobedience because they believe in what they are doing,’ said Mads Kissow, of the KlimaX (Climate X) organisation.
The calls for increased fines come as police are engaging in a multi-prong strategy that calls for negotiation to prevent demonstrations from getting out of control and investment in equipment such police vans equipped with surveillance cameras to record demonstrations that turn violent.
