The Swedish climate activist escaped jail time on Monday but was still fined. Shortly after her verdict, she was taken away by the police after another action.
Greta Thunberg said she acted “out of necessity” in the face of the climate emergency. A few hours after he was first convicted of disobedience to police during a pacifist mobilization on Monday July 24, the Swedish activist was again chased away by police during a lockdown in Malmo, Sweden.
She is among a group of six climate activists arrested for “refusing to comply” after blockading the city’s port. According to the police and an AFP photographer, they were taken away by the police.
As early as June 19, Greta Thunberg took part in blocking access to this port in protest against the use of fossil fuels and has already refused to follow police instructions. At the end of this first trial, the 20-year-old activist was fined 1,500 kronor (130 euros) and 1,000 kroner (about 85 euros) in damages.
“We will not withdraw”
“In my opinion, we are in an emergency situation and for that reason my action was legitimate,” Greta Thunberg said during a press conference after her trial. “We certainly won’t back down,” she said after the verdict, arguing that the laws needed to be changed to protect the planet. “It is absurd that those who act on the basis of scientific data and block the fossil fuel industry should pay the price.”
In addition to Greta Thunberg, five activists from the organization are to be tried for the first blockade of the port of Malmo.
On the part of the environmental organization Ta Tillbaka Framtiden, with which Greta Thunberg mobilized, the determination to fight against the fossil fuel industry is unbroken. “If the court decides to see our lawsuit [perturber le trafic] He can do it like a crime, but we know we have the right to life and the fossil fuel industry is blocking that right,” an activist told AFP.