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Limity jsme my, z.s.

Don't leave us be dry - contribute to legal expenses!

For over eight years we have been fighting against the coal industry, which is one of the strongest in the Czech Republic. Over the years, we have contributed to saving the town Horní Jiřetín, setting the coal phase-out for 2033, and we have brought the topic of climate crisis into the public debate. But the coal business, boosted by record profits last year, is not about to give up. Since 2018, coal companies have been repressing people who choose to protest and practice civil disobedience to resist the destruction of the planet. They are filing intimidating lawsuits that seek to deprive the climate movement of money and discourage further action. In order to effectively defend ourselves against the attacks of the coal companies, we need to cover our legal costs. That's where you come in! We've been in this together from the beginning, so let us stand strong against fossil capital and help each other!

WHAT HAPPENED?
In 2018, as part of the action days of the climate camp, a direct action took place during which the Bílina mine was blocked and occupied for several hours. In the end, police arrested about 280 people. The coal company Severočeské doly subsequently sued 90 people for the lost profit caused by the blockade of the mine. These 90 people were sued quite randomly, including people who were for example attending a wedding during the action. One clear example of absurdity for all: among the persons sued was a coal company employee who was wrongly identified by the police as the perpetrator. 

We consider it clear that the coal company's efforts are not about money loss but about bullying and intimidating climate activists. After four years, the court has now issued a verdict ordering 83 people to pay for the lost profit (the amount originally sued for was approximately 660,000 CZK, but given that the court also awarded interest on late payments, this amount will already be several hundred thousand higher). Our legal team is of course going to appeal this decision.
 
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WE NEED YOUR HELP RIGHT NOW!
Our legal team is currently handling the most lawsuits in its history. Most of the legal team works for free, yet some expenses are unavoidable and we feel it is important that people can be represented by professional lawyers in complex cases. Everything is getting more expensive, and we don't want to leave anyone without the ability to defend themselves. We also offered to pay the legal costs of the wrongfully sued employee of the mining company, but fortunately, his employer came to their senses after pointing out the mistake and withdrew the claim.
 
In order to be sure that we will be able to cover all the costs, we need to raise at least CZK 350,000 by the end of the year. Please help us continue our fight against an unfair system with even a small donation or by spreading the appeal further. 

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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE LEGAL TEAM AND ITS SUCCESSES
 
The legal team has been providing its services since 2017 and currently supports over 150 activists in their ongoing cases. Their main focus is on defending people who are accused of participating in direct actions. Each action supported by the legal team is based on a consensus action where one of the core values is non-violence. 

Although our focus is primarily on defending people facing sanctions from the authorities, we also succeed in working to improve the legal environment in the Czech Republic through the cases we handle. Some examples:
 
  • Following our intervention actions against random mass legitimations, the police developed a new methodology that provides clear procedures for police and prohibits mass legitimations as a method of profiling participants in climate camps or other events.
  • After our intervention lawsuits on police behaviour against foreign participants the courts recognized that the police acted improperly (not providing water, leaving people handcuffed in hot environments in direct sunlight, addressing people in vulgar terms, etc.), which led to improved police behaviour at other events
  • After our intervention lawsuits against the police removing journalists from direct action (preventing them from documenting what the police were doing during interventions), the court recognized that there is a strong public interest in the documentation of police actions by journalists and therefore police is not allowed to prevent journalist access.

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253 donors supported this project

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