TWO ENVIRONMENTAL activists appeared in court in Copenhagen yesterday accused of terrorism-related offences during the Copenhagen climate summit in December.
Natasha Verco, an Australian student, and Noah Weiss, an American who lives in Denmark, will face similar charges in a trial which is due to last all week.
Ms Verco, who has organised non-violent direct action in her native country and who has been part of the Climate Justice Action (CJA) network in the lead-up to the summit in Copenhagen, has been charged with organising violence, organising public disorder, significant damage to property, and organising disorder during the international talks on climate change which took place in Copenhagen last year. If found guilty, she faces a maximum of 12½ years in prison.
Speaking a day ahead of the start of the trial, Verco recalled her arrest: “On December 13 I was riding my bike down by the Copenhagen lakes, and a plainclothes policewoman jumped out at me and pushed me off the bike. She took me to an unmarked police van with six or seven plainclothes policemen. I asked them ‘Are you randomly picking me up?’ And they said, ‘No, we hunted you’.
“They held me by myself in an underground car park for about 16 hours, I think . . . I was charged the day after I got to prison, but bail was refused because, they said, the investigation was ongoing and I would influence it if I was released.”
Ms Verco and Mr Weiss say they had their phones tapped, along with 17 other activists, which is legal under recently introduced terror legislation in Denmark.
Verco said: “I feel nervous and indignant at the same time . . . And looking back at the calls that they’ve taped, it feels very invasive.”
The police are now processing nearly 200 legal complaints about the treatment of the arrestees. – ( Guardianservice)