Munich, Germany: German prosecutors said on Monday they had filed charges against five former members of climate activist group "Letzte Generation" (Last Generation), including for "forming a criminal organisation".
The Munich Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed it had filed the charges -- of which it gave no details -- "against five members" of the movement, which reorganised into two groups earlier this year.
Members of Last Generation released a statement saying they would contest the charges, calling them "an attack on civil society engagement as a cornerstone of democracy".
Founded in 2021, Last Generation mounted eye-catching, non-violent protests in Germany for several years calling for urgent action to combat climate change.
These included throwing mashed potatoes at the glass protecting a Monet painting and repeatedly glueing themselves onto busy roads.
The group's members briefly halted airport traffic several times by breaking into airports and glueing themselves to the tarmac.
The movement announced in February that it was reorganising into two new groups focusing on different climate- and environment-related issues -- "Neue Generation" (New Generation) and "Widerstandskollektiv" (Resistance Collective).
Several members of Last Generation have previously faced criminal charges for offences such as damage to property and trespassing.
In May last year, prosecutors in the state of Brandenburg said they had charged five members of the group with "forming a criminal organisation" in relation to protests at two oil refineries, Berlin airport and the Barberini Museum in Potsdam.
