A public prosecutor in Germany charged five members of the Last Generation climate activism group on suspicion of forming a criminal organization, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
The charges are based on attacks on the PCK oil refinery in Schwedt in Brandenburg to the north-east of Berlin, the capital city's BER airport and the Barberini Museum in Potsdam just outside Berlin, between April 2022 and May 2023.
The prosecutor for the town of Neuruppin in Brandenburg is also bringing charges for disrupting public businesses, coercion and damage to property.
"The accusation concerns the accused as members of a sub-group of the 'Last Generation' who, in differentiation from the entire group of the 'Last Generation,' declared their willingness to commit criminal offences of a certain weight and participated in them," the public prosecutor's office said.
After the disruption, investigators carried out raids in several states targeting group members in 2022.
In similar cases elsewhere in Germany, the Munich and Flensburg public prosecutors are also investigating Last Generation activists on suspicion of membership of a criminal group.
The group began protesting by blockading streets more than two years ago and also staged protests in museums, stadiums and ministries.
Last Generation wants to bring politicians to take more decisive action to counter climate change.
It wants the president to discuss the climate crisis in an address to the nation and initiate a debate on immediate measures, including the rapid phase-out of all fossil fuels.
The group has also demanded a wealth tax to finance climate protection and "fair rationing that puts a limit on the overconsumption of the rich."