The activists say all their protests were open, accountable and non-violent, and contested the use of such a draconian law against them.
“This is the first time in German history that a climate protest group that uses measures of peaceful civil disobedience is charged as a criminal organisation,” Herrman said.
“This charge is especially dangerous for democracy and the right to peaceful protest because the charge turns the constitutional right of protest, freedom of speech and political assembly into a crime simply because some laws were broken in course of civil disobedient protest.
“This charge is meant for mafia and organised crime. This charge criminalises every act of support towards the group Letzte Generation. This creates an immense chilling effect on all climate protests in Germany.”
Yes, but then you charge and convict for civil disobedience, not for forming a criminal organisation.
“Yeah, that guy who jaywalked SHOULD be charged with murder, jaywalking is a CRIME, PEOPLE!”
Civil disobedience is not a charge, because it is not the crime. Civil disobedience is when someone deliberately breaks a law that they believe is a bad law. For example if you think that the law against indecent exposure is unjust. Your act of civil disobedience might be to stand in front of city hall with a large group of like minded people and strip naked. If you get arrested and charged you will be charged with indecent exposure not civil disobedience. As indecent exposure is the act of civil disobedience you are making.
Civil disobedience is not inherently criminal in the western world (that would be horrible) - criminal acts are. In this case, the civil disobedience involves crime, and the organization explicitly plans illegal action, fitting the bill of what that law prohibits.
If them being convicted based on those laws are a problem -change them. That’s often part of the purpose of civil disobedience, highlighting problematic laws, swaying public opinion and getting lawmakers to change them.