Greta Thunberg charged after climate action in Sweden

[Simon]

Climate activist Greta Thunberg is charged after a climate action in the oil port of Malmö, Sweden, earlier this summer, Swedish media is reporting.

Thunberg is suspected of disobedience to authority after she and other climate activists from the movement "Take back the future" tried to block the entrance and exit for the tank trucks, by standing in front of them. The police asked the protesters to move, which some of them ignored. Thunberg and the other protesters were later dragged away by police.

"The blockade is part of a peaceful resistance against the fossil industry, which threatens young people’s future", the movement wrote in a press release on their website. During the action, about 30 trucks were prevented from driving in and out of the oil port.

Thunberg has previously written about the protest on social media. "We chose not to be passive bystanders, but instead to obstruct the fossil fuel infrastructure. We take back the future," Thunberg wrote on Instagram in connection with the action.

Previously, one other activist has been charged following the protest. Greta Thunberg will be called to a hearing at Malmö District Court, which is tentatively scheduled for July 28. Prosecutor Charlotte Ottesen has told Swedish media that if Thunberg is found guilty, she would have to pay fines.

Greta Thunberg is a famous Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation. She became famous when she started sitting outside the Swedish parliament with a sign reading "School strike for climate" in 2018. Thunberg was nominated as a candidate to receive the Nobel Peace Prize twice, and in 2019 she was awarded Time Magazine's Person of the Year, and in 2020 she won the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity.

[Simon]

And here's the outcome:

Greta Thunberg fined for disobeying police at protest.

Greta Thunberg was sentenced for disobeying law enforcement, Malmö District Court has announced. Thunberg is sentenced to pay 30 daily fines of SEK 50 (for a total of 1500 SEK) and must also pay 1000 SEK to the Crime Victim Fund.

In court, Thunberg admitted that she was present and that she did not listen to the police's request. She denied any wrongdoing, citing emergency law.

"It's correct that I was at that place on that day, and it's correct that I received an order that I didn't listen to, but I want to deny the crime," Thunberg said in court, according to the AFP news agency. "My actions are justifiable," she was quoted as saying. "I believe that we are in an emergency that threatens life, health and property. Countless people and communities are at risk both in the short term and in the long term."

During a press conference, Thunberg said that the verdict came as no surprise and that she won't stop taking part in climate protests.

"We can't save the world by following the law," Thunberg said. "It is absurd that those who act in accordance with science are the ones who pay the price and are prosecuted, while the fossil fuel industry is not held accountable."

And sure thing, shortly after she was fined, Thunberg carried out a new action in the oil port in Malmö together with the organization Take Back the Future. Local news media reported that police removed her and several other activists as they blocked the entrance to the tanker depot and prevented tankers from driving out.

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