(photo by Greta Thunberg via Twitter)
On Monday, June 19, 2023, Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg was detained by Swedish police for defying law enforcement orders.
The 20-year-old was present at Malmö’s port along with youth-led activist group Ta Tillbaka Framtiden (Take Back the Future) to obstruct oil tankers. The occupation began on June 15. The following day the official Twitter account of the group announced the blockade of the port’s entrance and exit in response to the climate meeting taking place in Stockholm. Thunberg highly criticized the meeting, stating on Twitter that the government had invited “Sweden’s biggest polluters, but not climate scientists, youth and climate movements.”
On the third day of the occupation, the activist shared on Instagram that “the climate crisis is already a matter of life and death for countless people,” and that the group chooses “not to be bystanders” by physically halting the fossil fuel infrastructure.
On June 19, the activists were instructed to move as some trucks needed to pass through the port. However, some of them refused to comply with the orders and were subsequently detained.
This information was made public only yesterday (July 5), when Swedish prosecutors stated that charges had been filed “against a young woman who on June 19 participated in a climate demonstration” causing traffic disruption in Malmö. Later in the day, Swedish Prosecution Authority Spokeswoman Annika Collin confirmed that the statement referred to Greta Thunberg. The prosecution told BBC that Thunberg is scheduled to appear in court on July 24, along with three other protestors.
Disobeying law enforcement in Sweden can carry a maximum sentence of six months in jail, but according to Prosecutor Charlotte Ottesen, the charge typically results in a fine, as reported by the Sydsvenskan newspaper. The newspaper also stated that the hearing schedule is subject to change.
Thunberg has not responded to requests for comments from newspapers and has not addressed the incident on her social media accounts, where she continues to be active.
This is not the first time that the Swedish activist has encountered legal issues during climate protests. In fact, in January Thunberg was detained twice in Germany for participating in a protest in a deserted German village slated for destruction to make way for coal mines. Moreover, she was detained in Oslo for her involvement in a demonstration against the construction of wind farms on Indigenous territories in Norway.
://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1670123693220012033?s=2To conclude, Greta Thunberg has been charged with defying law enforcement during her protest against oil tankers. She, along with three other members of the activist group Take Back the Future, is tentatively scheduled to appear in court on July 24, where they are likely to receive fines.
psps://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1670123693220012033?s=20
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