Newsletter November 2024
Have you ever heard about the repression backfire effect? That is when harsh state repression for protest creates attention and sympathy for the repressed and criticism for the actions taken by the state. It can play a crucial role in achieving a political goal.
Repression can take many forms: police raiding houses, high fines, holding people on remand, long prison sentences, being illegally stripped naked in police custody, politicians slandering people for legitimate and peaceful protest, lawsuits worth millions or simply violence and aggression by police.
Many of our projects have experienced different forms of repression as it is the most effective tool used by those in power to crack down on protest. And although it is a key element of peaceful civil disobedience, repression is scary. Therefore, this christmas, we’ll ensure that the resistance can grow and endure the repression. Donate now to our Christmas fundraising campaign!
Donate now for our Christmas fundraiser!

People from Letzte Generation Germany have experienced some of the harshest repression. Along with many others, Regi was woken up by police at 6 a.m., had their room raided and searched. Regi was put into a prison cell more than 25 times and held on remand for eleven days. “This scares me”, they say. “Repression is made to break us. It is hard to admit that the house raid made me unable to fall asleep for several months. It is hard to admit that repression does exactly what it is supposed to do”.
However, repression is also a sign that the protest is effective – there is no point in repressing people who are irrelevant in the first place. In Germany, people carry the weight of repression together. Regi had a whole care team after the house raid, cooking and reminding them to brush their teeth. For every person going on trial, there are several people coming along to bring snacks, hugs and advice. Carrying the consequences together is “I feel like the biggest superpower we have”, adds Regi.

However, sometimes repression will also take ridiculous forms. The state attorney’s office in Munich was spying on people’s phones to find out more about the leaders of Letzte Generation. Interestingly, this information could be easily found by a simple google search. So people put up posters at the state attorney’s office with screenshots on how to perform this google search. Lars explained that they would happily help the authorities in this matter so they will have more time to investigate the real criminals: oil bosses and politicians who break the law. Check out the funny video of the action, English subtitles are available.

In Sweden, we did what our government won’t: We reduced carbon emissions, and put human life and nature before profit. People started to restore wetlands themselves, using only shovels and sheer will. This week’s trial is the biggest trial so far in sweden. But this kind of repression exposes how deeply ingrained the fossil industry is into our societies that it’s shaped even our legal systems – not only in Sweden. Fossil industries are protected over nature, biodiversity and human life itself.
No matter how this trial and upcoming ones are ending: It’s a win for us. Either we will all be acquitted for trying to act on the climate catastrophe, or peaceful people digging with shovels are sent to prison, which will most likely lead to a lot of heated debates.

Oh! Have you already seen the video of us Återstall Vatmarker spraying Malmo airport in blood red paint on November 20th? We’ve had enough. We cannot continue to be obedient in a system that leads to collapse. People need to wake up! That’s why we welcome everyone in Sweden with civil courage to shut down airports with us this Easter.

In Italy, our campaign Ultima Generazione has experienced some of the harshest penalty increases. The economic consequences are among the highest in Europe. A law has been approved that punishes actions on monuments with fines of up to €60,000. We happened to receive a fine of €20,000 each for having attached sheets of paper to the protective glass of Botticelli’s Venus in Florence with scotch tape.
It’s hard to say whether the repression helped or hindered us. On the one hand, in the weeks in which people were arrested some people got scared. On the other hand, the court hearings and similar events allow us to mobilize many people.
Giacomo (in the photo) is 33 and after taking part in a civil disobedience protest, their punishment included a ban on leaving their city and the obligations to stay home at night. “Fortunately, the judge recognized that I was not a dangerous person. For me it was an absurd situation, I struggled to believe it,” they say. “In the past I studied law and worked as a legal consultant, so being subjected to these accusations seems unjustifiable in a democratic state. I have always acted nonviolently, while it happened that the police were violent against me”
Recently, a new Italian law is being discussed which punishes roadblocks and other forms of resistance with prison sentences. The governments worldwide, and also the Italian one, are very busy criminalizing our protests. Instead, they could simply start to fight climate collapse: We would not protest anymore and they could save their time they are wasting now by criminalizing us.

The repression in Denmark for Nødbremsen is lower. After a roadblock, people are dragged to the sidewalk by the police and receive fines. And since we don’t leave on our own, it can happen that police are arresting us for sitting on a sidewalk. This is clearly illegal according to Danish law, because it is a blatant breach of the freedom of assembly. Police will also use pain grips to get us off the streets – people who just sit there peacefully.
In what world does it makes sense to construct 15 new highways in the midst of climate collapse? In none, and the Danish government is completely delusional, thinking that that could be the right thing to do. We are prepared to continue our protests against this government regardless of increased repressions in the future.
There are trials coming up, where we challenge our fines and the arrests made on the sidewalk. We look forward to presenting our case: We’ve acted in solidarity and empathy with both Danish and Global citizens, to protect our fundamental rights to liberty, safety and a livable planet – all of which are being actively attacked by our politicians’ continued escalation of the climate collapse.

Remand for two weeks and then being released with electronic monitoring until trial starts is a reality in Aotearoa (New Zealand), if people support peaceful protest of Climate Liberation Aotearoa. Plus, police have started using smart repression – repression that is harmful, but invisible to the public. They give out formal warnings, which go onto our permanent records without the opportunity for a trial.
Our massive anti heli tours banner was seen from a total of 49 helicopters in not even 5 hours on that day – in the midst of the climate catastrophe. When cruise ships arrive in ports, we often unwelcome them with megaphones, flyers and slow walks in front of their buses. We make it impossible for passengers to be ignorant of the climate costs of their luxury holiday.
People are scared of repression. They are afraid to put their future opportunities at risk and go through the criminal justice system, which may pose harsh consequences. For Annabel, the repression of their actions is what drew them to the group: “I have had enough of legal protests which were simply ignored and dismissed as soon as they were over. Seeing people be arrested for causing disruption to the processes that is killing our planet gave me new hope. When the system is screwed, you must work from outside it in order to make change.”

Anne Klenge received her court hearing just recently. A year ago she sprayed the Monolitten in Oslo. “It felt like a weird gift to move around freely and I couldn’t think straight. From the beginning on I had immense support from family and friends. So in the end, I left the courtroom feeling more impactful than I ever did. It’s not over yet and I believe there is a lot to win on the way,”
Repression on climate activism in Norway often takes the shape of high fines or compensation. Esther Hjerrild and Fridtjof Klareng from Stopp Oiljetinga (the earlier campaign before Folk mot fossilmakta) faced a 2,4 Million NOK (€ 205,000) compensation claim. Another paint action, where we even cleaned up after ourselves, resulted in € 1200 and a full 18 days of prison.
Our community in Norway built up an organization called Beskytt Demokratiet (protect democracy). Similarly to Rückendeckung für eine aktive Zivilgesellschaft in Germany, it seeks to support people who face repression with legal, financial and emotional aid. The goal is to have people’s back after they were brave enough to take action against fossil destruction.

The treatment of nonviolent protests, specifically Just Stop Oil supporters, has been some of the most extreme experienced by any A22 Network member project, labelled as “increasingly severe crackdowns” by the UN‘s Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders, Michael Forst. Nothing motivates people more to resist the state and a broken political system than having a friend or a loved one in prison. Unfortunately, the general media coverage of the repression hasn’t been very strong. This infringes on the democratic rights of everyone in this country and should be covered. We should all be absolutely outraged.
32 supporters of Just Stop OIl have been imprisoned this year and there are 21 who still remain inside. Their names are Larch Maxey, Christopher Bennet, Samuel Johnson, Daniel Knorr, Noah Crane, Ella Ward, Margaret Reid, Indigo Rumbelow, George Simonson, Phoebe Plummer, Anna Holland, Cressie Gethin, Roger Hallam, Lou Lancaster, Daniel Shaw, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, Rosa Hicks, Rory Wilson, Adam Beard, Luke Watson, and Luke Elson.
This message is straight out of prison. Sam is currently remanded to Wandsworth “because I walked slowly in the road with about 40 others. We were there for a maximum of 20 minutes. I will be in here at least until my court date. It’s clear that the authorities still believe we can arrest our way out of the climate crisis without actually taking any positive action to address the underlying issue. I am here because I acted out of love and fear. Love for everything I hold dear, and fear for what we will lose. Stand up. Be counted. Love, Sam”.
We, the people of the A22 Network stepped in and took the responsibility that our leaders still refuse to take. We bear the consequences of our actions. Many of us are in prison, face trial or extremely high fines. We can only resist together.
This Christmas, you can make a difference. Instead of buying gifts for people who do not need anything new, we encourage you to support our Christmas fundraiser. To sustain and amplify our resistance in 2025, we aim to raise €40,000. Your support is not just a donation, it’s a declaration of our shared moral responsibility to change the system. Together, we will uphold democratic values and nurture a future where freedom and love can grow.
We are a growing international network racing to save everything we love by using effective, nonviolent civil resistance across our 10 countries.
This newsletter gives an update on our work of November 2024 and summarises the repression people face for taking part in necessary peaceful civil resistance.
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