German police halt forest eviction after journalist falls to his death

Desdemona Despair

BERLIN, 19 September 2018 (AP) – Authorities in western Germany say they’re suspending the eviction of protesters from a threatened forest after a journalist fell to his death.

Police said Wednesday the young man plunged at least 15 meters (50 feet) from a rope bridge strung between two treehouses in Hambach forest in what appeared to be a “tragic accident.”

The government of North Rhine-Westphalia state later announced it was halting work to clear the forest, which is to make way for a coal mine.

Environmentalists have been trying to prevent the ancient woodland from being chopped down, arguing that Germany should stop extracting and burning fossil fuels.

Dozens of protesters have been camping in the trees in recent weeks, while hundreds more have tried to enter the woods to stop workers from preparing the clearance.

German police halt forest eviction after journalist dies

20 September 2018 (Democracy Now) – In Germany, a journalist has died while covering the eviction of protesters from the Hambach Forest. For the past six years activists have occupied the forest in an attempt to stop the planned expansion of a nearby open-pit coal mine. But over the past two weeks German police have been clearing the protest encampment—evicting activists from their treehouses. The journalist died after falling from a bridge connecting two treehouses. On Sunday, nine environmental activists were injured as police tried to remove them from the treehouses.

Germany: Journalist Dies While Covering Hambach Forest Occupation