SCIENTISTS ON TRIAL need your help!

Stand with Scientists On Trial and help them cover the legal expenses for non-violent climate actions

Translations: Italian/Italiano, French/Français, Spanish/Castellano, German/Deutsch, Portuguese/Português

Next trial: March 5th, Munich, Germany

Scientist Rebellion engages in bold civil disobedience actions around the world (36 countries so far) to demand climate justice. More than 50 Scientist Rebellion members have already faced trial or are waiting for their court dates.

Join us in standing with Scientist Rebels and support their mission to fight the climate crisis. Support them in the face of growing criminalization of climate justice activists [1], [2]

For raising the alarm and exposing illegitimate practices, 18 Scientist Rebellion members have already spent up to seven days in prison in Munich following our actions in Berlin, Wolfsburg, and Munich in 2022, and are now standing trial. The criminal charges and legal costs associated with these trials alone are estimated to reach around €350,000 in total.

They are now on trial for these actions - and need your support!

We need scientists on the streets, not behind bars. Please contribute to the crowdfunder.

The SR activists facing trial on March 5th:

Over twenty scientists from Scientist Rebellion participated in civil disobedience actions in Munich, Germany, in October 2022. They targeted the BMW's luxury car exhibition space ("BMW Welt"), the headquarters of BlackRock - the world largest investment company, and held a public protest by blocking a road in the center of Munich in front of two expensive car stores in Odeonsplatz.

They did so to call for:
i) admission of governmental climate failure to keep warming below 1.5 C,

ii) to expose massive fossil finance and greenwashing practices,

iii) to demand the rapid decarbonization of the transport sector plus the introduction of simple measures like speed limits and 9-Euro public transport tickets in Germany, and

iv) to draw attention to the deadly consequences of fossil fuel investments for the Global South and to call for Global South debt cancellation.

We want to support members of SR who struggle with legal expenses and fines following their actions. We've set a bold goal for this fundraiser: €100,000. Every contribution, no matter the amount, makes a significant impact and reduces potential prison time for the defendants. Please support these dedicated scientists and encourage your peers to join you. Whether you do so publicly, or whether you prefer an anonymous donation, your support helps those who are brave enough to Walk The Talk and take huge personal risks to save our planet.

We need your support to keep going!

The climate and biodiversity crisis is accelerating. Millions of acres of land have already been destroyed by raging wildfires this year alone [3], tens of thousands of people have been displaced by disastrous floods [4], and the rate at which species are going extinct is estimated to be between 1,000-10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate.

The time to act is now.

Symbolical protests, including demonstrations of millions of people across the globe calling for decisive actions against climate change aren't acted upon by our governments. Civil disobedience has long been part of peaceful democratic traditions, and public participation of scientists in non-violent civil disobedience actions can be a powerful movement for change.

About Scientist Rebellion

Scientist rebellion is a climate action group with over one thousand members across 32 countries. Our members are students to professors across a variety of scientific backgrounds. We all believe scientists must step beyond the confines of laboratories, lecture halls, and offices, and take non-violent direct action to gain credibility, shaking up both governments and the public. During acts of civil resistance we identify ourselves by wearing lab coats.

About this fundraiser

This fundraiser is associated with the global Scientist Rebellion collective (https://opencollective.com/scientist-rebellion). Please note that not all scientists joined in all of the above actions, and that the charges they face vary from person to person. This fundraiser does not raise money for any specific individual, but instead will be used to help as many of the scientists on trial as possible. Scientist Rebellion is committed to a fair distribution of the funds raised, and will also use them to support scientists on trial for other actions. If you wish to support any individual on trial personally, please get in touch with SRFunding@proton.me.

If any funds cannot be spent on legal or repression-associated costs, they can be used for other purposes within Scientist Rebellion such as supporting new actions. To continue planning for the medium to long term, we need more stability and resilience in the face of the costs of repressions. We can achieve this through monthly donations.

Criminalization of climate protests harms our democracy - and therefore, all of us!

The first version of this crowdfunding page was launched on October 23, 2023

Goal €100,000 EUR

Amount raised

€38,124.91 EUR

Still to contribute

€61,875.09 EUR