The UK has led the way in the crackdown, experts say, with judges recently refusing an appeal against multi-year sentences for climate activists who blocked a motorway bridge in east London. The three-year jail terms for Marcus Decker and Morgan Trowland earlier this year are thought to be the longest handed out by a British judge for non-violent protest.

Michel Forst, the UN rapporteur on environmental defenders since June last year, described the situation in the UK as “terrifying”. He added that other countries were “looking at the UK examples with a view to passing similar laws in their own countries, which will have a devastating effect for Europe”.

He added: “I’m sure that there is European cooperation among the police forces against these kinds of activities. My concern is that when [governments] are calling these people eco-terrorists, or are using new forms of vilifications and defamation … it has a huge impact on how the population may perceive them and the cause for which these people are fighting. It is a huge concern for me.”

  • 🦄🦄🦄@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    Love for Putin would be one. As long as Die Linke is keeping Wagenknecht, they have to endure comparisons like that. And I say that as someone who voted for them the last election.

    • interolivary@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Pro-Putin / Russia leftists are a deeply idiotic phenomenon. As another voter for the left here in Finland I’m glad our version of Die Linke is actually leftist and doesn’t support blatant imperialism

      • 🦄🦄🦄@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Well, in Germany we have a saying “Wessen Brot ich esse, dessen Lied ich sing”. Basically, I will support the story of whoever pays my bills.

        • interolivary@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          Ha, we have the exact same saying here when literally translated: “kenen leipää syöt, sen lauluja laulat” or “you sing the songs of the one whose bread you’re eating”. We probably got it from you folks, we’ve got a lot of phrases that were borrowed from German.

          • tetraodon@feddit.it
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            1 year ago

            Italian has a similar one. Paraphrasing: I call myself neither red nor white. I’ll go with whoever feeds me.

            It rhymes in Italian, and it has historical references non-Italians would miss.

            We also say that the whole world is a village!