BERLIN (Reuters) – Two climate activists face criminal proceedings after a demonstration on a Berlin motorway slowed emergency services’ response to a severe traffic accident, police in the German capital said on Tuesday.
The men, aged 59 and 63, are accused of obstructing persons rendering assistance, a police spokesperson told Reuters, confirming a report in the local newspaper Berliner Zeitung.
The two protesters had glued themselves to a gantry sign on the city’s autobahn 100 on Monday, the spokesperson added.
A vehicle belonging to the fire brigade, which had been on its way to assist a critically injured cyclist, got stuck in a traffic jam as a result and was delayed in reaching the scene, according to authorities.
The cyclist, who had been run over by a cement mixer, is in intensive care following the collision.
In recent months, protesters from the group Last Generation have made headlines by supergluing themselves to roads in Berlin and other German cities, demanding tougher measures to combat climate change, including the introduction of a speed limit on German motorways.
On Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz appealed to protesters to take the safety of others into account when expressing their views.
(Reporting by Rachel More; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
