Germany's Habeck: climate protests that endanger people are wrong

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has condemned protests that endanger people after a demonstration by two climate activists on a Berlin motorway slowed emergency services' response to a traffic accident, after which a cyclist subsequently died.

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has condemned protests that endanger people after a demonstration by two climate activists on a Berlin motorway slowed emergency services' response to a traffic accident, after which a cyclist subsequently died. The activists are accused of obstructing persons rendering assistance, a police spokesperson said this week. They had glued themselves to a gantry sign on the autobahn on Monday, the spokesperson said.

A vehicle belonging to the fire brigade, which had been on its way to assist the critically injured cyclist, got stuck in a traffic jam as a result and was delayed in reaching the scene, according to authorities. The cyclist, who had been run over by a cement mixer, later died.

"The death of the cyclist is shocking, the circumstances must be clarified in detail," Habeck, minister for the economy and climate action, told Funke media group. "Regardless of the clarification, the following must apply: Forms of protest that endanger people are wrong ... climate protection is about protecting life and liberty," added Habeck, of the ecologist Greens.

"Those who risk the health and lives of others with their protests forfeit all legitimacy and also damage the climate movement itself," he said. A spokesperson for the Berlin police on Friday referred questions about the incident and any subsequent action against the activists to the Berlin public prosecutor's office, which could not immediately be reached for comment. 

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