Petition and support: Defending the land is not a crime

On May 26, three people—Jorge Riechmann, Marina M. Martínez, and Paco del Pozo—will be tried in Madrid, accused of “serious resistance to authority,” a crime punishable by fines or prison sentences of three months to one year. Their alleged serious resistance consisted of avoiding injury when the police broke up the human chain that blocked traffic on a Madrid street on October 7, 2019. It is, therefore, a false accusation. Some of these individuals, along with fourteen others, will also face another criminal trial in the coming months for an action carried out on April 6, 2022, which involved pouring a biodegradable and easily cleanable liquid on the columns of the Congress of Deputies building. In this case, the requested penalties are even harsher.

These two non-violent actions were part of international mobilization campaigns. The first was promoted by the 2020 Climate Rebellion platform in conjunction with Extinction Rebellion Spain. The second group, Scientific Rebellion, is made up of scientists and academics who, after warning for decades about the severity of the ecological crisis, and particularly the climate change, and in light of political inaction, have decided to take action.

A country like ours, which in recent years has suffered devastating waves of wildfires, increasing desertification, prolonged droughts, and a DANA storm with terrible consequences—all unprecedented—should be especially sensitive when it comes to taking measures to address the ecological crisis and its already evident effects.

Is the situation so serious that it is worth risking freedom and property to try to call for action? Yes, if we take the latest reports from the IPBES or the IPCC of the United Nations as accurate. The latter stated: “We are facing an imminent catastrophe; we are passing an irreversible climate tipping point without governments acting accordingly.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres himself warned in December 2024: “We are witnessing climate collapse in real time. This path is doomed to ruin, and we must abandon it as soon as possible.” And in 2025, he said: “Countries must steer the planet toward a safer future by drastically reducing emissions and supporting the transition to a renewable future.” Meanwhile, in January 2020, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved the Declaration on the Climate and Environmental Emergency in Spain.

The reality is that neither the international community nor our government is acting in accordance with its commitments, and the causes of the crisis, far from diminishing, continue to increase their impact. Firstly, because neither in practice nor in rhetoric have they abandoned the path of economic growth, which is at the root of the ongoing ecological destruction. In the European case, moreover, this growth is driven by the military sector—that is, by the destruction of life. On the other hand, even when progress is made in eco-social policies, the multidimensional ecological problem is reduced to the emissions factor, leading to the implementation of ambiguous measures that, while they may reduce emissions locally, represent a global worsening of planetary overshoot (a clear example of this is the public incentive for electric cars).

For all these reasons, we need the voices of Earth defenders to be heard more than ever. Not only because of the severity of the ecological devastation and its terrifying consequences for society, nor simply because of the scandalous lack of serious measures to mitigate it, but also because, in a new twist of the spiral, those who resort to peaceful action to draw attention to all of this are punished with absolutely disproportionate institutional violence. One year and nine months in prison for participating in a peaceful demonstration! That is what the Public Prosecutor’s Office is requesting for the action in front of Congress. But do we need to be reminded that nonviolent civil disobedience is a fundamental resource of democracy, thanks to which some of the noblest achievements of our societies have been attained? To accept its criminalization is to accept the undermining of popular sovereignty and the fundamental right to peacefully oppose injustice.

This peaceful opposition is more important today than ever before. The world is heading down a path of violence and warmongering that annihilates entire populations, like those in Gaza, ecosystems, and, in short, the prospects for a dignified future on this living planet. If we do not take peaceful action against war, the worst that can happen to us will occur, and at an accelerated pace.

In support of the protesters, we ask for your signature at the bottom of the manifesto (https://www.peticiones.net/defender_la_tierra_no_es_delito) and your presence at the event in support of this cause, which will take place at the Círculo de Bellas Artes on May 25, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. We also ask that you share this with your friends and colleagues as much as possible.

FIRST SIGNATORIES:

• Adrián Almazán, Philosopher, University Professor
• Ana Morente, Journalist
• Ana Pérez Cañamares, Poet
• Antonio Crespo Massieu, Poet
• Antonio Gamoneda, Poet
• Antonio Orihuela, Poet
• Alberto García-Teresa, Poet
• Alberto San Juan, Actor, Founder of Teatro del Barrio
• Ana Rosetti, Poet
• Aurora Fernández Polanco University Professor
• Azahara Palomeque. Poet and Novelist
• Belén Gopegui. Writer
• Bernardo Atxaga. Writer
• Berta García Faet. Poet
• Carmen Madorrán. Philosopher, University Professor
• Chema Madoz. Photographer
• Eva Lootz. Artist
• Gabi Martínez. Writer
• Joaquín Araujo. Naturalist, Writer, Organic Farmer
• Jaime Vindel. CSIC Researcher
• Jordi Doce. Poet, Literary Critic
• José Albelda. Painter, Founder of MHESTE/DESEEEA
• Joseba Sarrionandia. Writer
• José Luis Tirado. Artist, Filmmaker
• José María Parreño. Poet, University Professor
• Juan Carlos Mestre. Poet
• Laura Casielles. Poet
• Manuel Alcántara. Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, UAM
• Marta Sanz. Poet and novelist
• Martha Asunción Alonso. Poet and translator
• Miguel Casado. Poet and critic
• Mar Villaespesa. Exhibition curator
• María Sánchez. Veterinarian and writer
• Marina Garcés. Philosopher
• Manuel Rivas. Writer
• Nacho Fernández Rocafort. Poet, professor
• Olvido García Valdés. Poet
• Ruper Ordorika. Musician
• Tonia Raquejo. University professor
• Tristán Ulloa. Filmmaker, actor
• Viggo Mortensen. Actor, filmmaker
• Yayo Herrero. Anthropologist, ecosocial activist, university professor.

Thank you very much for your support and for sharing this.