BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - For North Rhine-Westphalia's Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach, the question of whether or not Lützerath will be preserved "has long been settled." "At the latest with the ruling of the Higher Administrative Court in March 2022, it was legally final that RWE has the right to claim this locality," the Green politician said on Deutschlandfunk radio on Friday. However, he said he could all understand the young people resisting in the village of Lützerath, as the path to coal had been a "wrong path." Nevertheless, he said, the legal situation had to be respected.

Limbach condemned police officers being pelted with stones or fireworks during the eviction. In his opinion, it was "a completely wrong attitude." There are many legitimate ways to express one's political opinion. However, violence against representatives of the state is not one of them.

Referring to the actions of the Last Generation group, whose members paste themselves on streets or at airports, the justice minister warned against further radicalization. "I hope they reach this point, see this stop sign, not to go further into violence. By doing so, they also delegitimize the struggle of many peaceful activists who are fighting for climate change," Limbach continued./xil/DP/mis