Norwegian authorities criminally charged 20 Indigenous Saami activists and supporters on Friday for blocking access to multiple government buildings in protest over the continued operation of wind turbines in the Fosen region. The operation occupies the same land as traditional reindeer herding grounds, despite a 2021 Norwegian Supreme Court ruling calling for an end to the turbines’ operation, according to a statement from the Saami activists’ attorneys.

The statement, released by attorneys Olaf Halvorsen Rønning and Anne Marie Gulichsen with Elden Advokatfirma who are representing the activists, alleges that the activists were charged by the public prosecutor in Oslo, Norway, though the statement does not specify the nature of the charges. Local news outlet VG alleged that the group is charged with not paying fines related to the protests. Rønning and Gulichsen criticized the actions of the public prosecutor, stating:

Punishing the Sami youth and their supporters will be yet another violation of their human rights – violation of their freedom of speech and demonstration. National minorities have particularly strong protection against protests directly directed at those responsible in the Government for human rights violations the group is exposed to.

Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen, one of those charged, stated the case leaves a “bitter taste in our mouths” but “we look forward to presenting our case in court.”

While the protests have been ongoing since the announcement of the Fosen wind turbine project, Rønning and Gulichsen alleged the charges stem from protests “last Winter.” Protests have occurred throughout 2023 with protests in February blocking the entrance of the Ministry of Oil and Energy, protests in April as the Norwegian Parliament began its 2023 session, protests blocking the entrance to the government-backed company Statkraft which runs the turbines in October and protests in June blocking the entrance to the Prime Minister’s office.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre met with activists in March of 2023, and apologized for “ongoing violations of human rights.” However, in October, Minister of Oil and Energy Terje Aasland stated that the demolition of the wind turbines is “not appropriate” and “not a likely outcome neither of a decision process nor a mediation process.” Statkraft responded to the protests at its offices, saying, “We are actively participating in the ongoing mediation process together with the reindeer herding and the state.”

In 2021, the Norwegian Supreme Court ruled that the license for Storheia and Roan wind power plants in Fosen was invalid and the Saami reindeer herders have a right to use the land for cultural purposes under the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The court also determined that the wind turbines have an “adverse” effect on the herders’ ability to practice their culture.

Multiple other Northern European countries have come into conflict with the Saami people over alleged human rights violations. In 2019, the UN Human Rights Committee ruled that Finland violated the political rights of representatives to the Saami parliament by improperly enlarging the electoral roll of eligible candidates, calling for the protection of the Saami people’s right to self-determination. In 2009, the Swedish Saami Association brought a lawsuit against the government of Sweden for allegedly violating the group’s ancestral hunting rights.