Eco-demonstrators who glued themselves to the floor of a Volkswagen factory then moaned that their hands hurt and they could not go to the toilet have been arrested.
Nine activists from the Scientist Rebellion group broke into Autostadt, a museum and car showroom opposite Volkswagen’s main factory in Wolfsburg, late on Wednesday and glued themselves to the floor of the Porsche pavilion.
They vowed to continue their protest until Volkswagen agreed to lobby ministers to decarbonise the transport industry.
But they began complaining after just a few hours that they had no food and staff had refused to bring them a bowl to defecate in.
Gianluca Grimalda, who had declared he was on hunger strike, then began complaining his hand – which he had covered in superglue and stuck to the floor – was swollen and said medics warned him he was at risk of blood clots.
After just a day of protest he agreed to leave for medical treatment and was arrested, before riot police moved in to round up the rest of the demonstrators.
A group of ‘scientists’ who had glued themselves to the floor of the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, have been arrested a little over a day after the demonstration started
Gianluca Grimalda, who had vowed to remain until Volkswagen agreed to lobby for low-carbon transport, voluntarily left after 24 hours when his hand swelled up
The demonstrators began complaining after just two hours that they had no food, the lights and heating had been turned off, and staff had refused to give them a bowl to defecate in
Agisilaos Koulouris, another demonstrator, tweeted an image of dozens of riot officers inside the museum with the message: ‘They are arresting everyone.’
The activists are members of Scientist Rebellion, a group promoting itself as a collection of scientists ‘willing to tell the truth about the climate crisis, and act on it’.
They are urging Volkswagen, one of Germany’s largest carmakers, to step up in the fight against pollution.
Pictures of the protest were shared online and showed six activists glued to the ground in front of three Porsches.
They had also glued mocked-up newspaper front pages reporting on global warming to vehicles inside the showroom.
As the protest got under way, Mr Grimalda tweeted: ‘Together with 15 other members of Scientist Rebellion I have occupied the Porsche pavilion at Autostadt.
‘Nine of us glued to the floor and some of us on hunger strike until our demands to decarbonise the German transport sector are met.’
But just two hours later, he had begun complaining that museum staff ‘refused our request to provide us with a bowl to urinate and defecate in a decent manner while we are glued, and have turned off the heating’.
He added: ‘People in support can get out of the building but then they couldn’t get back in. We can’t order our food, we must use the one provided by Volkswagen.
‘Lights off. Random unannounced checks by security guards with bright torches. Police just came in.’
After a night sleeping on the floor, Mr Grimalda tweeted an image of his swollen hand saying that a doctor had been brought in to examine him.
He said: ‘Doctors ascertained the possibility of life-threatening blood clots in my hand and recommended an immediate transfer to a hospital.
The protest began late on Wednesday and saw the group sleep on the floor for two nights (pictured) until riot police moved in and arrested them
Another seven demonstrators were ‘supporting’ the group from outside the showroom, but were barred from bringing supplies inside
Meanwhile, other Scientist Rebellion protesters threw red ink on the steps in front of the VW factory in Wolfsburg before holding up signs which read ‘no new car factory’
‘My health is of course paramount. I accepted to leave this wonderful group and was taken to hospital.’
So, just over a day into the demonstration and with none of his demands met, Mr Grimalda was taken out of the pavilion where activists say he was arrested.
Then Mr Koulouris tweeted: ‘Now, just a few minutes later they’re warning us that we need to leave immediately otherwise we’ll be arrested.’
Images showed dozens of riot police inside the pavilion and people being arrested outside, ending the protest on its second day.
Climate protesters have been wreaking havoc across Europe as they demand governments act on addressing climate change.
In Knightsbridge, central London, Just Stop Oil protesters glued themselves to a road outside Harrods after spraying orange paint across the building on Thursday.
Earlier this month, protesters from the group tried to block roads in central London and sprayed paint over an Aston Martin showroom.
An activist from Just Stop Oil sprays orange paint on an Aston Martin Store on Park Lane as other members block roads
Last Generation activists unfurled large banners protesting fossil fuels and called for an end to oil and gas
And on Saturday, two protesters appeared in court a day after throwing tomato soup over a Van Gogh painting at London’s National Gallery.
The Sunflowers painting was protected by a screen but the frame was damaged, according to the gallery in Trafalgar Square.
In Rome, furious drivers resorted to dragging away a group of eco protesters who halted traffic on a busy motorway.
Rush hour motorists were blockaded on the Grande Raccordo ringroad outside the Italian capital on Monday by activists from the Last Generation group, who unfurled large banners protesting fossil fuels.
Drivers got out of their vehicles to remonstrate with the eco-zealots and pleaded with them to get out of their way.
Some took matters into their own hands, physically dragging them off the road.
One man on a motorbike begged to be let through, arguing: ‘I have to go, I’m a doctor.’
But an activist refused to let him through without seeing his medical identification and demanded he handed it over.
He eventually brandished his ID card and the demonstrator allowed him to bypass the human barricade.
Two Just Stop Oil protestors who had suspended themselves from Dartford Bridge since early Monday morning have been brought down and arrested following the arrival of a huge cherry picker
A sharply-dressed eco-warrior grimly pours a bottle of milk all over the floor of Fortnum & Mason in Piccadilly as part of a protest against dairy products