ESSEN (dpa-AFX) - In protest against the eviction of the village of Lützerath for lignite mining, about 25 to 30 climate activists occupied the entrance of the headquarters of energy company RWE in Essen on Friday. According to an activist spokesman, three of them chained themselves to a rolling gate with bicycle locks. They carried signs with inscriptions such as "Lützi bleibt" and "Moratorium Lützerath". Lützerath, which belongs to Erkelenz in the Rhineland, is currently being evacuated and demolished by police so that RWE can excavate the coal underneath.

They want to continue the action in Essen until the eviction of Lützerath is stopped, said the spokesman, who says he belongs to the group "Last Generation." He said that RWE has been manipulating the German public and politicians for many years with false figures, most recently again on the question of whether the coal lying under Lützerath was really necessary to maintain the energy supply. An RWE spokesman did not want to comment on the action.

A spokesman for the Essen police said the action was currently making it impossible to pass the entrance. The activists had sprayed the words "Lützerath bleibt" on the ground. A house wall had also been sprayed. In this context, the police are investigating the suspicion of damage to property. In addition, they are investigating whether there is a violation of the right of assembly, since the demonstration had not been registered./cd/DP/jha