Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Greta Thunberg protests at oil harbour just hours after court fine
2023/07/24
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (C) stands in front of the European Parliament, where a protest action was held by environmental activists.
 Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa

Only hours after showing up in court for resisting police orders while protesting, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was out demonstrating again on Monday.

Undeterred by the fines that had been handed down to her by a Swedish court, Thunberg participated in a similar act of civil disobedience to the one that got her in trouble the first time at the oil port in the Swedish city of Malmö.

She once again refused to comply with police orders to clear the street, media reports said.

Photos in Swedish media outlets showed the 20-year-old, who became the face of climate activism after staging weekly protests at the Swedish parliament, being carried away by police officers.

"We are doing this because we are in the middle of a climate crisis," Thunberg told Swedish news agency TT. "We who can act have an obligation to do so."

Earlier on Monday, at the Malmö District Court, Thunberg admitted to taking part in a separate protest in June and ignoring police instructions. However, she rejected the idea that it was a criminal offence, reported TT.

"My actions are justifiable," Thunberg told the court, saying she was acting in the face of a climate emergency.

The court, however, did not accept this argument.

Thunberg was sentenced to 30 daily fines of 50 Swedish kronor ($4.80) for resisting state authority. She was also ordered to pay 1,000 kronor to a fund for crime victims.

The activist, who lives in Stockholm, took part in a climate protest at Malmö's oil harbour in June that lasted several days, during which protesters prevented oil tankers from leaving the harbour.

She posted her own account of the protest on social media, including a picture of herself in front of a truck holding a sign that read "I am blocking tankers" in Swedish.

Four other activists were also charged for refusing to clear the road despite being ordered to do so several times by police officers.

A number of Thunberg's supporters had reportedly gathered outside the courthouse.

© Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH


Greta Thunberg goes on trial over Swedish climate protest


By AFP
Published July 24, 2023

Thunberg faces charges over a demonstration in the city of Malmo - Copyright AFP FREDERICK FLORIN

Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg is set to go on trial on Monday charged with disobeying police at a rally last month, in which activists blocked the port in the city of Malmo.

She is due to appear before the court in the southern Swedish city at 0930 GMT.

The 20-year-old activist “took part in a demonstration that disrupted traffic” and “refused to obey police orders to leave the site”, according to the charge sheet seen by AFP.

She faces a maximum sentence of six months in prison, but prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen told AFP that usually these types of charges result in fines.

The rally, organised by environmental activist group “Ta tillbaka framtiden” (Reclaim the Future), tried to block the entrance and exit to the Malmo harbour to protest against the use of fossil fuel.

“We choose to not be bystanders, and instead physically stop the fossil fuel infrastructure. We are reclaiming the future,” Thunberg said in an Instagram post at the time.

Thunberg shot to global fame after starting her “School Strike for the Climate” in front of Sweden’s parliament in Stockholm at the age of 15.

She and a small band of youths founded the Fridays for Future movement, which quickly became a global phenomenon.

In addition to her climate strikes, the young activist regularly lambasts governments and politicians for not properly addressing climate issues.

Thunberg simply responded “no comment” to police questions regarding the Malmo rally, according to a preliminary transcript seen by AFP.

– ‘Burning our lives’ –

Reclaim the Future insists that despite the legal pressures, it remains unbowed in its determination to stand up to the fossil fuels industry.

“If the court chooses to see our action as a crime it may do so, but we know we have the right to live and the fossil fuels industry stands in the way of that,” group spokesperson Irma Kjellstrom told AFP.

Six members of the organisation would be appearing in court in Malmo, she said.

“We young people are not going to wait but will do what we can to stop this industry which is burning our lives,” she said, explaining the group’s plans for continuing civil disobedience.

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