*[Enwl-eng] Our support made a difference
ENWLine
Hi,
This summer, Alexander Schiebel finally celebrated. He was stressed for months because he faced criminal charges merely for criticising his local government’s massive use of pesticides in its apples.
Back in September, we joined forces to help Alexander and Karl Bär, activists fighting against the use of pesticides. The government of South Tyrol and the apple industry sued both of them in an attempt to intimidate and silence them. [1]
Now, Alexander has been fully acquitted and almost all of the complaints against Karl have been dropped. [2] This victory would have never happened without the protest and our outcry against this outrageous attack on freedom of speech. [3]
Alexander Schiebel and Karl Bär criticising South Tyrol’s massive use of pesticides.
The quiet mountain and prosperous region of South Tyrol were not used to seeing our European people power in action and being targeted: they rely heavily on tourism and absolutely hate bad publicity. So we organised a protest and delivered over 250,000 signatures, including yours, Vladimir, in support of Karl and Alexander, attracting a lot of attention and bringing bad press to South Tyrol. [4]
Protest in September 2020 in front of the regional court of Bolzano in support of the pesticide rebels and freedom of speech.
The acquittal and dropped lawsuits are not only a win for Alexander and Karl, but for all activists speaking out against pesticides.
By dropping the vast majority of its lawsuits, the apple industry and the local government are admitting that they made a mistake in dragging their critics to court and instead should accept an open debate about their practices.
But, unfortunately, it’s not all good news. Of the apple industry companies, more than 1,300 have dropped their lawsuit against Karl, but two are still left standing. And while the local government did drop charges, they may still continue their trademark infringement action against Karl. [5] So the fight is not over yet. Karl could still face a conviction and be forced to pay large fees. The court proceedings will continue on October 21, 2021.
Karl Bär facing legal proceedings in the regional court of Bolzano
With our partners the Munich Environmental Institute, WeMove Europe will continue to follow the remaining cases and keep you up to date on all developments. In the meantime, both Karl and Alexander and all activists fighting against pesticides throughout Europe thank you for your continued support in bringing attention to their cause.
Thanks to you, together we challenged the powerful pesticide industry and are doing what we can to protect activists
In solidarity,
David (London), Giulio (Rome), Annemarie (Berlin) and
the entire WeMove Europe team
P.S. Together, we’ve been fighting to stop the use of pesticides like glyphosate throughout Europe since WeMove Europe was founded 6 years ago. Help us to continue to support activists and campaigns that protect our food and our health from toxic chemicals. Donate – it takes less than a minute!
References:
[1]
https://act.wemove.eu/campaigns/support-pesticide-rebels
[2]
https://organic-market.info/news-in-brief-and-reports-article/south-tyrol-acquittal-for-pesticide-critic.html
[3]
According to correspondence with partners, Munich Environmental Institute
[4]
https://www.slowfood.com/do-pesticides-poison-freedom-of-expression/
In
Italian,
https://www.ildolomiti.it/ambiente/2020/svelarono-i-retroscena-sulluso-dei-pesticidi-in-alto-adige-la-provincia-querela-con-possibili-richieste-milionarie-di-danni-vogliono-silenziare-il-dibattito-pubblico
In
Italian,
https://www.cambialaterra.it/2020/09/quando-i-pesticidi-avvelenano-anche-la-liberta-di-espressione/
In
Italian,
https://www.ansa.it/europa/notizie/la_tua_europa/notizie/2020/10/28/strasburgo-condanna-azioni-alto-adige-contro-ambientalisti_76490b2f-2d88-4c21-985a-aef881fd5d7c.html
[5]
In Italian,
https://www.umweltinstitut.org/mitmach-aktionen/attivisti-anti-pesticidi-in-tribunale.html?activeTab=3
WeMove Europe is a community of people from all walks of life,
who call Europe our home,
no matter where we were born, where we live or who
we love. In the name of a brighter future for people and the planet,
we
come together to sign petitions, send letters and protest on the streets to make
our voices heard.
Our power comes from each other. And it's thanks to
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please help keep WeMove Europe strong by chipping in.
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