the protection of the constitution examines
Last generation could become a suspect
3/10/2023 3:22 p.m
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is currently examining whether the last generation needs to be put under surveillance. This emerges from a media report. Should the activist group become a suspect, this would have far-reaching consequences for them.
According to a media report, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is investigating whether it needs to monitor climate protection activists of the last generation. The office had already created a corresponding test case more than half a year ago, reported the “Spiegel”. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution uses public information to determine whether the group has any indications of extremism.
If the agency declares the last generation to be a suspected case at the end of the examination, it could also monitor the group with secret service means. These means include observation, observation on the Internet, the monitoring of letter, post and telecommunications traffic and the use of informants. When asked by “Spiegel”, the authority said that it “generally does not comment on the monitoring status of organizations that are not listed in the report for the protection of the constitution”.
The activists of the last generation became known for protest actions such as sticking them on streets or daubing paintings. Some actions caused harsh criticism. For example, in February she felled a tree in front of the Chancellery. The district councilor for Mitte, Almut Neumann, describes the action as “absurd”. The office estimated the damage at 10,000 euros, and criminal charges were filed against those involved.
The head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has so far been cautious
Most recently, they caused outrage because they poured a black liquid over the Basic Law monument in the Bundestag and provided it with posters. There was also criticism from the environmental organization WWF. The executive director of WWF Germany, Christoph Heinrich, told the newspapers of the media group Bayern that the action would rather harm the climate protest.
Head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, has so far been reluctant to comment publicly on the group. Although she commits crimes, she is not immediately extremist, Haldenwang said in the fall. At the end of January he repeated this assessment: “The Office for the Protection of the Constitution “does not yet see sufficient evidence of a threat to the free and democratic basic order”.