Justice for Sagunto 11: Inside a court victory for our rights and freedoms

"Activism is not a crime."

This message was unveiled by Greenpeace Spain in Valencia before 11 activists faced an unprecedented trial over a 2021 protest against a fossil gas shipment at the Port of Sagunto. This was also a message emphatically affirmed by the Spanish court's quick rejection of the harsh punishments sought by the Public Prosecutor's Office.

11 Greenpeace activists who participated in a peaceful protest in 2021 at the port of Sagunto against a ship carrying gas faced trial on September 23, 2026. The Public Prosecutor's Office was seeking five years in prison for the crime of aggravated public disorder - one of the harshest sentences ever sought for environmental activism.

Amid a global wave of attacks on the rights to free speech and protest, the Public Prosecutor's Office initially sought five years in prison for 11 of the Greenpeace activists involved in a peaceful October 2021 protest against fossil gas involving Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza, one of the harshest sentences ever demanded in Europe for peaceful environmental protest. The demand was reduced to two and a half years at trial, but this remained a disproportionate punishment apparently intended to deter climate action. The court's judgment on 6 October 2026 rejected the charge of aggravated public disorder, finding the prosecution had failed to prove the activists engaged in any violence or intimidation that altered public peace.

To learn more about the Sagunto trial, the peaceful protest, and the global implications of this moment, we spoke with Daniel Simons, Greenpeace International Senior Legal Counsel Strategic Defence, who has been working on the case since 2021:

Why did the climate activists protest at the Port of Sagunto?

Daniel Simons: In October 2021, the largest Greenpeace ship at the time, the Esperanza, entered the Port of Sagunto to protest the dangers of fracked fossil gas by blocking a massive LNG tanker, the Merchant, from arriving. The ship had come from the United States carrying 138,000 cubic meters of fossil gas, roughly 41 Olympic swimming pools' worth of compressed methane, extracted through fracking, one of the most environmentally damaging extraction techniques.

The non-violent protest was undertaken by highly-disciplined activists who maintained clear, calm communication with local maritime and port authorities throughout. In a peaceful act of resistance, one activist chained himself to the Esperanza's anchor to delay the tanker's arrival into port. He held out for 12 hours before Spain's Civil Guard boarded the ship, cut the anchor chains, and brought it to port. No one was injured for the duration of the action.

On what basis did the Spanish government seek to punish the Sagunto activists?

Initially, in 2022, the Spanish government had imposed fines of more than €160,000 for this action for obstructing another vessel and the Esperanza's failure to request pilotage and towing services in the Port of Sagunto. These fines are still being appealed. Then, in a move that drew international attention for its severity, Spain's Public Prosecutor charged each individual with aggravated public disorder and sought a 5-year prison sentence, an unprecedented punishment for peaceful climate action in Europe.

How did the judge rule?

A trial was held before a single judge on 23 September, which included testimony from the 11 defendants. In a judgment returned on 6 October, the court rejected the charge of aggravated public disorder, finding the prosecution had failed to prove the activists engaged in any violence or intimidation that altered public peace.

By the conclusion of the trial, it was clear that there was no basis for the unprecedented punishment sought. Not only did police officers and the shipping agent representing the tanker describe the action as peaceful, but the prosecutor even conceded that the demand for five years' imprisonment was an error, since it exceeded the maximum penalty in force in 2021 (the law changed in 2023).

26 October 2021: Members of the Spanish Civil Guard board the Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza after ten hours of blockade of the port of Sagunto.

Why did the Sagunto trial draw interest from around the world?

The Sagunto trial drew a large crowd in Valencia, including the crew from the Arctic Sunrise, a Greenpeace International delegation, the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders, Michel Forst, and many journalists.

Here's how Gina Romero, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, who sent a representative to the hearing, described the significance of the trial:

"The Sagunto case demonstrates how easily the legal system can be used to deter people from exercising a fundamental right, even when the law agrees in the end they did nothing wrong. It's part of a broader, global pattern of using the legal system, criminal charges, punitive fines, and restrictive laws to shrink civic space. I will continue to raise the alarm and raise my voice to ensure that peaceful protest is not treated as a crime - in Spain or anywhere else."

What happens next?

The Public Prosecutor's Office has the right to appeal the acquittal, though we hope it instead turns its attention towards those endangering, not defending, life on this planet. If needed, we will continue defending the activists through any further proceedings.

Have other Greenpeace activists faced harsh charges for peaceful climate action?

For more than 50 years, Greenpeace activists have engaged in peaceful protest on behalf of people and planet. In doing so, Greenpeace organisations and activists have sometimes found themselves facing fines and criminalisation. The use of the court system by oligarchs and corporate polluters and their enablers in government to deter protest has made such challenges more common in recent years, with more than 30 Greenpeace activists facing various criminal proceedings in Spain alone for taking part in protests.

In the rare instances when activists have found themselves detained for more than a few days - such as the case of the Arctic 30, who were held in pre-trial detention for two months in Russia after a nonviolent action against Arctic oil drilling - people from all over the world have rallied in support, not just for the activists but for the rights they are exercising.

Energy Transfer's SLAPP (Strategic lawsuit against public participation) solidarity activities in Madrid, Spain in response to a judgment in the Energy Transfer case against Greenpeace entities.

Why are the rights to free speech and protest under attack?

That is a good question. Part of it may be the Cassandra complex, where governments punish climate activists for their uncomfortable, but science-based message. In some countries, more sinister motives are at play. Industries that have a lot at stake know that protest works, and invest heavily in curbing dissent, reframing protesters as a security threat, and shaping laws so that peaceful but disruptive protests can be prosecuted. As more countries slide into autocracy, including some established democracies, repression of civil society becomes a central tool for government actors and the wealthy elites that back them to maintain their profits and power.

Lindsay Bigda is Deputy Communications Lead for Greenpeace's Time to Resist programme, focusing on abusive lawsuits used to silence public participation.