14 DAY TRIAL // This past Friday, at about 9:30 a.m. local time, a dozen Greenpeace activists “hijacked” Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia Cathedral. The environmentalists used ropes to climb the Cathedral's steep façade, and then suspended themselves from the building.
Police officers and firefighters in Barcelona were quick to arrive at the scene, and installed several inflatable platforms, just in case one of the activists lost their footing and fell.
The Local reports that the environmentalists who climbed the Sagrada Familia did so to protest the arrest of 28 of their friends and colleagues by Russian authorities.
Together with a journalist and a videographer, the 28 Greenpeace activists now imprisoned in Russia are facing piracy charges in the aftermath of a protest against oil company Gazprom and its plans to drill in the Arctic.
The environmentalists who climbed the Cathedral hung posters showing pictures of the Arctic 30 from the building. The word “freedom,” in English, Catalan and Spanish, was written on each of these posters.
The protest lasted for about 3 hours, after which the environmentalists willingly returned on the ground. Police officers detained them for questioning, but it appears that none of them was arrested.
Talking to members of the press, Greenpeace spokesperson Luis Ferreirim said that the organization chose to protest the arrest of the Arctic 30 by climbing Barcelona’s iconic cathedral in an attempt to ensure that their message would reach as many people as possible.
“Well, we decided on the Sagrada Família as it’s a really iconic building, and a good opportunity to send out a message about the activists who are being held in Russia. It was surprisingly easy getting out there. We just walked in like normal visitors, and then climbed from there,” Luis Ferreirim told Vice.
“We took care not to damage the building, as we’re aware of its historic status,” the Greenpeace spokesperson wished to stress.