NOTE: More important news from the battlefield in Germany c/o GMWatch's wonderful German translators.
http://www.gmwatch.org/news-languages
For news from GMWatch in German.
http://www.gmwatch.org/component/german_articles
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Beekeeper released from prison - German Federal Constitutional Court decision

German beekeeper Michael Grolm was Germany's first 'field liberator' who went to prison for his actions. Together with numerous other activists he organised publicly-announced field liberations (German expression for decontamination of GM crop sites).

Earlier this year, Michael Grolm was sentenced to a fine of 1,000 Euros because he entered a field despite an injunction barring him from doing so. The beekeeper refused to pay the fine and announced his intention to go to prison instead, to demonstrate his resolve against the use of GMOs in agriculture.

But the court decided that he could only be detained for not paying the fine after he had disclosed his means. Since he refused the means testing, he was then sent into forced detention for this offence on August 27th. Under German law, this penalty can last up to six months - according to what's considered proportionate.

In the view of Mr. Grolm's lawyers, almost a month in prison was way past anything commensurate, and so they decided to make a final appeal to the Federal Constitutional Court, which ordered his immediate release on September 22.

In Autumn, he might have to face prison time again. This is because he not only entered the field but also pulled up GM corn plants, and so he has another fine (360 Euros) that's outstanding for this.

Information and a video (all in German):
http://www.gendreck-weg.de/
http://www.cinerebelde.org/erster-feldbefreier-hinter-gittern-p-94.html?language=de
http://de.indymedia.org/2009/09/261635.shtml
http://www.taz.de/1/zukunft/umwelt/artikel/1/bioimker-grolm-geht-ins-gefaengnis/