BARI – Moments of tension occurred in front of the entrance to the media center set up for the G7 in the Fiera del Levante in Bari where since the afternoon several dozen activists from the non-violent environmental movement Extinction Rebellion have chained themselves to the gates as a sign of protest against the «climate narrative».
One of the activists who was chaining himself apparently felt ill while the police tried to prevent him and was rescued by 118 and taken by ambulance to hospital where he underwent checks.
According to the version of one of the demonstrators, Pietro Laporta, the young man «was chaining himself to a tie rod, it is one of our practices of passive resistance: the police intervened, an officer pulled the chain, tightening his neck while he was sitting» and he “He got stuck and lost consciousness.” The police station’s version is different, according to which “the activist did not faint and no one held him”. «He tried to chain himself to the gates and while the security agents tried to prevent him, he said he felt ill and was taken by an 118 ambulance to the hospital, where he is currently undergoing checks».
The police are acquiring images from video surveillance cameras in the area to reconstruct the dynamics of the incident.
The protest was started in the afternoon to draw attention to the failure to respect the agreements made to curb climate change and in the evening two other activists climbed onto a structure in front of the entrance to the Fair, while carabinieri and police in riot gear guarded area. The firefighters also intervened with a crane to try to bring down an activist who had climbed the columns at the entrance to the Fair. Then the tension dropped and the protest also ended.
