Climate protesters under fire in Europe: UN expert

Geneva, Switzerland: Environmental activists are increasingly facing hostility across Europe, a UN expert said, warning that the very right to protest...

Geneva, Switzerland: Environmental activists are increasingly facing hostility across Europe, a UN expert said, warning that the very right to protest was "at risk" in countries usually considered beacons of democracy.

Michel Forst, the UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders, told AFP in an interview this week that he was deeply troubled by the hardening tone against climate activists in countries including France, Austria, Germany and Britain.

Government ministers have been throwing about terms like "eco terrorists" and "Green Talibans" to describe non-violent activists, he claimed, also blaming some media reporting for contributing to an increasingly hostile public attitude.

"It creates a sort of chilling effect," warned Forst, an independent expert appointed under the UN's Aarhus Convention -- a legally-binding text that provides for justice in environmental matters.

"Currently, the right to protest is at risk in Europe."