Sawt Falasteen - German climate activist faces expulsion from Austria after ban

Anja Windl, who has been living in Austria for seven years, became known for her protests against climate change, including glueing herself on streets to stop traffic with the Last Generation group.

In a decision Windl received last week, the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum issued the two-year ban, giving her one month to leave the country.

The ban was issued after the German activist was found to pose a "danger for the public order and security", according to the decision seen by AFP.

"This is highly problematic from a democratic perspective," Windl, a 28-year-old psychology student, told AFP, adding she would appeal the ban.

"We are moving toward civilisational collapse, and instead of holding those responsible accountable, it is those who have peacefully advocated for the preservation of our livelihoods" who are targeted, she said.

Her lawyer, Ralf Niederhammer, said he did not know of any other political activist being banned from Austria. Windl faces no criminal charges, he added.

The interior ministry declined to comment on Windl's case but said that a "very precise and objective examination of the relevant facts" takes place before such bans are issued.

Last Generation Austria said last year they were ending their protests as they no longer saw "any prospect of success".

The group regularly made headlines since 2022 blocking streets and pouring black liquid over a screen protecting Gustav Klimt's masterpiece "Death And Life" in Vienna's Leopold Museum.

Among their demands, they had called for climate protection to be enshrined as a fundamental right in the Austrian constitution.

Last month, German prosecutors said they had charged five former members of Last Generation with offences including "forming a criminal organisation".

Dozens of group members have previously faced criminal charges for offences such as damage to property and trespassing.

Some have been convicted and fined, with a handful also given jail sentences of several months.

The movement announced in February that it was reorganising itself into two new groups focusing on different climate and environment-related issues -- "Neue Generation" (New Generation) and "Widerstandskollektiv" (Resistance Collective).

S.Barghouti--SF-PST