Greenpeace Activists Face Sentences, Fines

BRUSSELS — Prosecutors are demanding a 12-month suspended prison sentence and a 1,100€ fine for each of 10 Greenpeace activists and a Greenpeace spokesperson, all of whom are charged with forgery and the use of forged documents.

The activists – two of whom are Belgian – were prosecuted for fabricating fake badges to enter the European Council at the December 2009 EU Climate Summit. Posing as an official delegation to the talks, the group hopes to promote its message on global warming.

"It was a peaceful action," explained Michael Genet, director of Greenpeace Belgium, marveling at the "tendency of the Belgian courts to criminalize such activism."

Defense lawyers have called for acquittal, challenging the specific charges. "The badges were crude imitations. So it is not wrong under the law," said Greenpeace counsel spokesperson Christophe Marchand. As for the use of the documents, the defense maintains that the activists’ badges were never checked.