Gas drilling in Molln

Conservationists against security: security guard sentenced

The test drilling in Molln caused quite a stir.

(Bild: Jack Haijes)

A security guard who was tasked with guarding the drilling site of the company ADX Energy in Molln has been sentenced to a conditional prison sentence of four months for coercion. The 37-year-old was accused of snatching the cell phone he had been filming with from the hand of an environmentalist. He then allegedly tried to delete the recordings.

The security guard, who already has six previous convictions, only admitted to having snatched the cell phone from the victim. He denied attempting to delete recordings of him afterwards. He was also acquitted of the second charge of attempted suppression of evidence. However, he was found guilty of coercion. The four-month conditional prison sentence was suspended for a probationary period of three years.

Conservationist against security guard
On February 17, there was an altercation between conservationists and the security guard. The security guard was at the drilling site with two colleagues to discuss securing the construction site with ADX, he said in court. Later, activists from "BI Pro Natur Steyrtal" approached the security guards, one of whom photographed the accused.

Thumbs turned back
When the 37-year-old realized that another environmentalist was filming the scenario with his cell phone, he grabbed him by the left hand and twisted his thumb back until he let go of the cell phone, the victim described. The defendant denied having twisted his thumb. "Somehow I sympathize with the opponents," he said. He also didn't think it was a good idea to drill for gas near a nature reserve. However, he confessed that he felt provoked by the footage of himself and had taken the cell phone by force. After "30 seconds", however, the owner got it back.

Natural gas found
ADX Vie GmbH - a subsidiary of the Australian-listed exploration company ADX Energy - began test drilling for fossil gas in the vicinity of the Kalkalpen National Park on February 24, a move that has been contested by environmentalists. On March 18, it was announced that natural gas deposits had been discovered, although "no clear evidence of the exact nature and quantity of the gas deposits" was reported a few days later. However, the permit for the test drilling expired at the end of March and the hole was sealed. Work can only be resumed in the fall at the earliest if a new official permit has been obtained by then.

Nature conservation law under review
The Constitutional Court is currently also dealing with the test drilling. The Upper Austrian Provincial Administrative Court had applied to the Supreme Court to review the province's Nature Conservation Act for its constitutionality. One of the reasons for this was the Greenpeace complaint against the gas drilling, which was not automatically granted suspensive effect. The 2014 amendment to the Nature Conservation Act introduced a reversal of the burden of proof for contested positive decisions in Upper Austria. The necessity for a postponement must now be proven.