*[Enwl-eng] Our support made a difference

[ENWL]

“[It’s] a very important victory for freedom of expression. And of course a 
great relief for me and my family.” – Alexander Schiebel, author and 
activist trying to stop the use of pesticides
Hi,

This summer, Alexander Schiebel finally celebrated. He was stressed for 
months because he faced criminal charges merely for criticising his local 
government’s massive use of pesticides in its apples.

Back in September, we joined forces to help Alexander and Karl Bär, 
activists fighting against the use of pesticides. The government of South 
Tyrol and the apple industry sued both of them in an attempt to intimidate 
and silence them. [1]

Now, Alexander has been fully acquitted and almost all of the complaints 
against Karl have been dropped. [2] This victory would have never happened 
without the protest and our outcry against this outrageous attack on freedom 
of speech. [3]


Alexander Schiebel and Karl Bär criticising South Tyrol’s massive use of 
pesticides.

The quiet mountain and prosperous region of South Tyrol were not used to 
seeing our European people power in action and being targeted: they rely 
heavily on tourism and absolutely hate bad publicity. So we organised a 
protest and delivered over 250,000 signatures, including yours, Vladimir, in 
support of Karl and Alexander, attracting a lot of attention and bringing 
bad press to South Tyrol. [4]


 Protest in September 2020 in front of the regional court of Bolzano in 
support of the pesticide rebels and freedom of speech.

The acquittal and dropped lawsuits are not only a win for Alexander and 
Karl, but for all activists speaking out against pesticides.

By dropping the vast majority of its lawsuits, the apple industry and the 
local government are admitting that they made a mistake in dragging their 
critics to court and instead should accept an open debate about their 
practices.

But, unfortunately, it’s not all good news. Of the apple industry companies, 
more than 1,300 have dropped their lawsuit against Karl, but two are still 
left standing. And while the local government did drop charges, they may 
still continue their trademark infringement action against Karl. [5] So the 
fight is not over yet. Karl could still face a conviction and be forced to 
pay large fees. The court proceedings will continue on October 21, 2021.


Karl Bär facing legal proceedings in the regional court of Bolzano

With our partners the Munich Environmental Institute, WeMove Europe will 
continue to follow the remaining cases and keep you up to date on all 
developments. In the meantime, both Karl and Alexander and all activists 
fighting against pesticides throughout Europe thank you for your continued 
support in bringing attention to their cause.

Thanks to you,  together we challenged the powerful pesticide industry and 
are doing what we can to protect activists

In solidarity,
David (London), Giulio (Rome), Annemarie (Berlin) and the entire WeMove 
Europe team



P.S. Together, we’ve been fighting to stop the use of pesticides like 
glyphosate throughout Europe since WeMove Europe was founded 6 years ago. 
Help us to continue to support activists and campaigns that protect our food 
and our health from toxic chemicals. Donate – it takes less than a minute!



References:
[1] https://act.wemove.eu/campaigns/support-pesticide-rebels
[2] 
https://organic-market.info/news-in-brief-and-reports-article/south-tyrol-acquittal-for-pesticide-critic.html
[3] According to correspondence with partners, Munich Environmental 
Institute
[4] https://www.slowfood.com/do-pesticides-poison-freedom-of-expression/
In Italian, 
https://www.ildolomiti.it/ambiente/2020/svelarono-i-retroscena-sulluso-dei-pesticidi-in-alto-adige-la-provincia-querela-con-possibili-richieste-milionarie-di-danni-vogliono-silenziare-il-dibattito-pubblico
In Italian, 
https://www.cambialaterra.it/2020/09/quando-i-pesticidi-avvelenano-anche-la-liberta-di-espressione/
In Italian, 
https://www.ansa.it/europa/notizie/la_tua_europa/notizie/2020/10/28/strasburgo-condanna-azioni-alto-adige-contro-ambientalisti_76490b2f-2d88-4c21-985a-aef881fd5d7c.html
[5] In Italian, 
https://www.umweltinstitut.org/mitmach-aktionen/attivisti-anti-pesticidi-in-tribunale.html?activeTab=3



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From: David - WeMove Europe
Sent: Monday, August 09, 2021 11:34 AM
Subject: Our support made a difference


A win for activists fighting pesticides and freedom of speech!
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