German police have conducted searches of the homes of climate activists from the Last Generation environmental group. They are charged with having organized a fundraising campaign to finance criminal actions.Police on Wednesday said they had searched 15 properties linked to members of the Last Generation climate group who are suspected of helping finance a criminal enterprise.

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The raids were connected to a string of charges filed against activists from the group since the middle of last year, authorities said.

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What is the latest that we know?

The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA) and the Munich General Public Prosecutor's Office announced that officers had conducted searches of properties in seven states across Germany from 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT/UTC) on Wednesday.

Seven suspects between 22 and 38 years of age are accused of forming or supporting a criminal organization, although officials said no arrests had yet taken place.

Two of the suspects also allegedly planned to sabotage an oil pipeline linking the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt to the port of Trieste in Italy. The pipeline is considered to be a critical piece of infrastructure in Bavaria.

The suspects are accused of collecting at least €1.4 million ($1.5 million) to finance criminal activities.

The police raids took place in the states of Hesse, Hamburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Bavaria, Berlin, and Schleswig-Holstein. Some 170 police officers were deployed nationwide for the operation.

Police said the internet homepage for Last Generation in Germany had also been shut down on the instructions of the prosecutor's office.

The searches, which were accompanied by orders to seize two bank accounts and other assets, were said to be aimed to secure evidence on Last Generation's membership structure and financing.

The latest inquiry follows an investigation launched last year by prosecutors in Neuruppin, outside Berlin, into actions targeting an oil refinery in eastern Germany.

What is Last Generation?

Germany's Last Generation (Letzte Generation) group has repeatedly blocked traffic in Berlin and other cities in its campaign to press for more strident action to counter global warming.

The group is demanding that the German government formulate a plan to meet an international goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.

As well as gluing themselves to busy intersections and highways, its members have targeted various artworks and exhibits.

Dozens of activists from the group have appeared in courts for blocking the traffic or obstructing police work in recent weeks. Most were fined but some courts have started to hand down jail convictions.

The group's tactics have met with strong criticism, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying on Monday that he thought it was "completely crazy to somehow stick yourself to a painting or on the street."

Last Generation tweeted a German media link to the raids on Wednesday with the hashtag #völligbekloppt (completely crazy), referring to Scholz's comment. It asked when lobby structures would be raided and "government fossil funds" seized.

Another climate group, Extinction Rebellion, tweeted that the raids were being conducted to "distract from the real criminals."

Meanwhile, the climate alliance Ende Gelände — which roughly translates as "here and no further" — said the raids were being carried out on "those who warn about the climate crisis and not on those who are responsible for it."

However, German Police Trade Union leader Rainer Wendt welcomed the news of the raids.

"The judiciary is taking action, that is the right signal of a defensible constitutional state," Wendt said.

"The population, which suffers thousands of times a day under the street terror of these self-proclaimed climate saviors, is finally being perceived as the real victim of these criminals."

While Last Generation acknowledges that its protests are provocative, it says that only by stirring friction can it encourage debate about climate change within society.

rc/nm (AFP, dpa, AP)

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 24, 2023 04:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).