Drop the charges against the climate defendants!

Monday 15th of March at 8.30 am prompt

Royal Danish Embassy

55 Sloane Street, London, SW1X 9SR


Location http://tinyurl.com/yd9ytom


Background and statement from the CJA network


During the climate summit in Copenhagen, about 2000 people got detained, while they amongst thousands of other people trying to get their voices heard and set a political agenda in the climate debate. About 20 of those people was kept in custody for weeks by the police. Out of those, 7 people are facing further legal proceedings and potential hard judgment. The 7 people are accused on basis of organizing legal demonstrations.


Through out the whole year of 2009, the danish government and the danish police exercised an intense campaign of vilification against those with a critical opinion of the highly political climate summit. The tools were sensational scare story in the media of protesters and activists plus the re-equipping of police with new weapons and economical resources. The right-wing governments introduced new law legislation Lømmelpakken, that is now being used for the furthermore criminalisation of political activities. These actions by the Danish government prepared the way for a massive assault on civil liberties including, preventive arrest of two thousand people, months of phone tapping of many activists, spying and raiding private homes and sleeping spaces, and also in general suppression of freedom of speech and movement. We are many that are shattered by this treatment in a so-called democracy.


We demand that this criminalization of our movement end now! and that the danish government drops all charges against those who are charged on basis of organizing legal demonstrations, plus all charges against others who were arrested during the COP15. The charges are groundless and are being used for justifying the extreme use of power from the police and a general chilling effect on civil society away from protesting and demonstrating.


The first trials against the 7 charged activists starts on the 16th March and continue until 19th. The two that are going to court, Natasha Verco and Noah Weiss, were both preventatively arrested and have been through 3 weeks of police detention, unjustified isolation, now they are facing longer sentences, higher penalties and deportation from Denmark. They are both accused on basis of organizing legal demonstrations.


The CJA network is calling for international solidarity with the the climate defendants. Among the ways individuals and groups can show solidarity at home is by

* Organising solidarity demonstrations to Danish embassies and consulates in your country
* Writing open letters to the Danish embassy demanding that the charges be dropped
* Doing press work publicizing the above and highlighting the cases of the defendants

Statement issued on behalf of the international CJA network