“Apparently just expressing an opinion was enough to receive such a letter, not even actively participating in a camp,” criticized Annemarie Schlack, managing director of Amnesty International, in a press conference on Wednesday. The lawyers’ letters were also sent to young people and traffic planners who opposed the city street on behalf of the city.
Schlack saw it as a “Slapp lawsuit” in which companies or governments try to silence critical voices by means of economic superiority. Amnesty observed such complaints in Sudan and also in Kosovo – that this would one day occur in the city of Vienna, “I would never have thought,” said Schlack.
Greenpeace: “Red Line Crossed”
Greenpeace spoke of a “clear crossing of a red line”. Sophie Lampl, program director of Greenpeace Austria, saw a democratic political scandal in which children and young people “are terrified”. “It is unprecedented for functioning democracies that an authority takes action against children and young people who are committed to climate protection with lawsuits that threaten the existence of millions,” said Lampl. She demanded from Mayor Michael Ludwig and City Councilor Ulli Sima (both SPÖ) a public apology to the young climate protectors.
The young climate activists Lena Schilling from the Youth Council and Mirjam Hohl from “Fridays for Future” also received such a letter. In response to young people who fear for their future, lawsuits that threaten their existence are threatened, Schilling criticized: “Why is this being done?” As long as the SPÖ Vienna adheres to its “climate-damaging concrete policy”, the protest will continue despite threats of legal action.
Threats of legal action against scientists
The letters of attorney were even sent to people who never physically took part in the protests in Lobau, such as an employee of the human rights organization Südwind and the scientist Barbara Laa. Laa, who works at the Vienna University of Technology in the research area for traffic planning and traffic engineering, assumed that she was threatened with legal action for “mental support” of the protest because she had repeatedly criticized the projects on social media.
“As a scientist, I have done that and I will continue to do so,” she emphasized. Laa saw the letter as a sign to scientists to “sit quietly in your closet and not take part in the discourse”.
The climate and human rights movement called on Ludwig and Sima to “withdraw the letters of intimidation immediately”. Rather, the City of Vienna must start a dialogue on an equal footing. The organizations set a deadline of 48 hours for the start of this dialogue. The next step will be decided afterwards.
SPÖ: “solution in dialogue”
The SPÖ sent out an offer from councilor Erich Valentin on Wednesday. “There can only be a solution in dialogue. Our goal remains to talk to one another and not about one another, ”said the chairman of the mobility committee. “We regret writing to minors and we apologize for that,” it said.