SPAIN: Public prosecutor seeks record prison sentence for climate activists
Eleven climate activists faced trial in Valencia on 23 September after Spain’s Public Prosecutor sought unprecedented five-year prison sentences for each activist for a peaceful climate protest. In October 2021, the Greenpeace activists blocked a liquefied natural gas tanker for twelve hours at the Port of Sagunto, calling for a transition to renewable energy and highlighting risks of dependence on foreign gas imports. The action was carried out without violence or injuries, and activists maintained communication with port authorities throughout the protest. Despite this, the proposal represents the highest criminal punishment ever recorded for climate activists in Europe. The Spanish government has already imposed fines of €160,000 related to the action. Additionally, the maximum sentence for the alleged public disorder offence was three and a half years in 2021, when the protest took place. It was increased to five years by a later reform, which the prosecutors are applying retrospectively, making the sentence sought by the prosecutor even more unprecedented. The case is awaiting judgment from the court in Valencia.
The sentence demands have been criticised by international bodies, such as the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association. Both stated that punishing activists for exercising their rights reflects a wider pattern across Europe where environmental defenders face disproportionate criminal charges and prison sentences and that states have an obligation to protect, not punish, those who exercise their fundamental democratic rights.