Under Pressure: Repression of environmental activism in Denmark 2019-2024

In the years 2019-2024, Denmark has experienced a resurgence in environmental activism, marked by the emergence of new groups utilising civil disobedience tactics. This report investigates the repression and criminalisation of environmental activists during this period, highlighting the legal and psychological impact of the repression activists face. The report’s methodology involves interviews with 15 activists from nine organisations, focusing on their experiences and observations related to police treatment. Protesters’ rights are enshrined in various international and regional treaties, which support the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly. One of the existing legal frameworks is the Aarhus Convention, a legally binding international instrument on environmental democracy, which links environmental protection and human rights. 

The report reveals through the interviews with activists that environmental defenders’ rights are under significant pressure. This is shown through police brutality, including the excessive use of pain compliance techniques during the removal of protesters, as well as through the increasing use of charges of the criminal code. Activists describe the impact of long and uncertain judicial processes and the difficulty of complaining about the police’s conduct. 

The report finds that the treatment of protesters in Denmark is heavily influenced by their citizenship status. Interviews reveal that several EU citizens received deportation threats linked to their participation in protests. Furthermore, the police’s treatment of protesters in Denmark reveals significant racial discrimination, when police administered an alcohol test to a Greenlandic protester without any justification, perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Additionally, activists report that privilege significantly affects how they are treated by the police, with non-binary and transgender individuals facing transphobia during ID checks, arrests, and police custody. 

Activists report that derogatory rhetoric from politicians and media coverage creates a hostile environment that discourages public participation in protests. Activists that participated in media appearances reveal to have received digital harassment, including death threats. 

This report highlights that repression of environmental activists in Denmark is a real issue and should be further investigated. The observed repression is contributing to a broader chilling effect on peaceful assembly across Europe as the police treatment undermines the right to protest by creating heightened barriers for marginalised communities. The report concludes in the recommendation of 1) the establishment of a watchdog to keep track of the right to protest in Denmark, not just for environmental defenders, 2) addressing any discriminatory impact of policies and practices on groups such as non-citizens, transgender protesters and people of colour and 3) ending the police’s use of force in the form of threats and violence.