Animal Rights Activistes charged again

The lawsuit against Austrian animal rights activists continues. 13 men and women were accused of being part of a criminal organization in 2010. Everybody knows what animal rights activists do: They organize demonstrations, go on demonstrations, do research about different locations were animals are kept and probably don't eat meat or animal products. Well, I do all these things. Still I have never committed any crime and neither have these 13 men and women. The main charge was “foundation of a criminal organization” based on clause 278a. This clause is meant for actual criminal organizations which deal with drugs and weapons and really dangerous stuff. This clause has never been used against citizens' groups and it was never meant to be used that way. The lawsuit took more than one year and the lives of these 13 animal rights activists were practically ruined. After not being allowed to work, paying the legal expenses and spending a lot of time in imprisonment on remand they were often separated from their families and all deep in dept. However, in 2011 they won the lawsuit and all 13 were acquitted of having committed any crimes. The whole lawsuit was absolutely ridiculous and an unbounded cheek. It didn't end there, however. Some days ago there was a new shock: The judgment didn't stay in force. 5 of these 13 Austrians were charged once again. Even if the accusation of being in a criminal organization was dismissed, they are now accused of threatening the company “Kleider Bauer” and committing damage of property. The supposed threat against “Kleider Bauer” comes from an e-mail in which a legal campaign against fur farming was announced. What is illegal about that? The case of damaging property stems from one broken window. That's it. There is nothing else. Isn't this completely ludicrous? This whole lawsuit never should have existed. Everyone thinks Austria is such a fair and wonderful country but in this case you see the other side of the coin.

Here you can watch a very interesting movie about it all:

http://tvthek.orf.at/programs/6088093-Der-Prozess