95 climate activists want the High Court to rule that the treatment they were subjected to by the Copenhagen Police in May 2022 was illegal. That is why they have appealed the district court's verdict. This is what lawyer Marc Stounberg, who represents the activists, told Ritzau.
A total of 121 people were part of the district court case, which concerned administrative detentions in connection with climate actions in May 2022. 19 of them were found in the district court to be right that the treatment they were subjected to by the police was illegal. Some of them were detained for too long. Most of them were strip-searched.
- It was unnecessarily offensive, and it was inhuman or degrading treatment, which was in violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and therefore also in violation of the Police Act, which states that the deprivation of liberty must be carried out as gently as possible, Stounberg told Ritzau about the district court verdict.
Seven people have failed to appeal, even though they were defeated in the district court. Lawyer Marc Stounberg has not received any justification from the seven for why they are refraining from appealing. The civil case concerns events between May 6 and May 13, 2022, when demonstrators blocked bridges around Slotsholmen in inner Copenhagen. With meter-long banners, songs and slogans, they made it clear that they were dissatisfied with the Danish climate action.
Several activists stood or sat in the middle of the road or in the pedestrian crossing, some chained themselves to each other, and a few glued themselves to the road. There was also a demonstration in and near Copenhagen Airport. When the case goes to the Eastern High Court, Stounberg will emphasize certain aspects on behalf of the 95 activists:
- The appeals will be about the implementation of the detentions, the length of the detentions and the conditions that the demonstrators experienced during the detention, he writes to Ritzau.
Jannik Rasmussen is a section leader in the legal department at the Copenhagen Police, and he represented the police in the district court. Here he sought to have the police acquitted of the accusations from the many activists. When the district court verdict was handed down, he told Ritzau that strip searches have generally been a focus of the police in recent years.
- Copenhagen Police has focused on ensuring that it is used in the right situations, where the conditions are met, he told Ritzau.
jel /ritzau/
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