Convicted activists vow to continue climate action, criticise trial

A suspended sentence of 18 months will not stop protests against government and company actions against climate change, guaranteed Maria Mesquita, one of eight activists convicted in court today.

Speaking to reporters outside Lisbon’s local petty crimes court after reading the verdict in the case of 11 activists who blocked traffic on Avenida Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco in December 2023, Maria Mesquita admitted that she had already been expecting the verdict, highlighting the presence of a “very significant increase in state repression” against climate change resistance protests.

“We will continue to hold on with all our might, we will continue to do everything we can to save everything we love. How is it possible that in the same year the Secretary General of the United Nations says that we are heading towards collective suicide and that we must resist and that these actions continue, the Portuguese state sentences us to one and a half years in prison. This is completely absurd?

Maria Mesquita also stressed that the law is “totally useless” if it does not serve society, and regretted the heavy-handedness of the judge who handed down a suspended sentence that does not allow the sentence to be replaced by a fine or community service.

“I find it inappropriate for the Portuguese state to even try people who are fighting for the lives of all people,” he said, continuing: “The lives of the people I love outweigh the threat of prison in every way.” The proposal, as of course. Let’s continue, there is nothing else to do.”

The lawyer for the 11 activists, Augusto Agapito, expressed surprise at the decision, pointing out above all the “cruelty of the sentence” for the eight defendants punished (three were acquitted) and regretting that the way the sentences were served limits the activists’ activities.

“The way these defendants were punished was violent, given that they are activists, people who fight for the common good, and not common criminals. From that point of view, whether by sentence or by form of coercion, it is a violent decision,” he said.

The defence also argued that the next step should be an appeal to the Lisbon court, as it disagreed with the crime for which eight of the 11 activists were convicted.

“We understand that such a crime as an infringement on the safety of motor transport does not exist, so it is logical to appeal. Throughout the entire process, we discussed the absence of this crime,” he summed up.

The trial of the activists who blocked traffic on Avenida Engeneiro Duarte Pacheco in Lisbon on December 14, 2023, ended today with the conviction of eight of the 11 defendants for the crime of attacking road safety and the acquittal of all of them of the crime of disobedience.