Fight against slapping lawsuits: Greenpeace defends itself against Energy Transfer!

Fight against slapping lawsuits: Greenpeace defends itself against Energy Transfer!

In the state of North Dakota, Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace International was sentenced to an astronomical compensation payment of over $ 660 million in a heated legal dispute with the oil company Energy Transfer. This decision follows the solidarity of Greenpeace with local indigenous groups that had spoken out against an oil pipeline of the company. The verdict, which occurred in a controversial slapping procedure (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation), triggered violent protests, since this type of lawsuit often serves to silence critical voices with high financial demands, such as Greenpeace.org noted.

sushma Raman, the managing director of Greenpeace USA, emphasized: "This is part of the attempts by corporations to use our dishes as a weapon to suppress contradiction. We should all be alerted by complaints like this. They aim to destroy our right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression." Greenpeace USA wants to appeal to this judgment to contest the decision. Greenpeace is also planning to continue his legal dispute at an international level. Last year, a lawsuit was submitted to a Dutch court based on the EU-Anti-Slapp guideline. There, the environmental protection organization requires complete reimbursement of all damage caused by the complaints from Energy Transfer, such as ots.at

The lawyer of Greenpeace International, Kristin Casper, announced: "Energy transfer has not yet heard the last word in this fight. We are only at the beginning." The company had previously filed several complaints that are often referred to as slapps - legal means that are used to bring environmental organizations into financial difficulties and thus suffocate the protest. Greenpeace has already achieved successes against similar things to companies such as Total and Shell. "We will see Energy Transfer this July in court in the Netherlands. We do not give up and do not let ourselves be silenced," added Casper. The developments related to this case throw a strong light on the threat of freedom of expression and protest law in the USA and worldwide.