Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been charged with disobeying police in Sweden last month during a port blockade and may face six months in prison. The Telegraph has the story.
Ms. Thunberg, 20, joined a group of young protesters as they stopped oil tankers from entering and exiting the port in Malmö.
- On Wednesday, the Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan reported that she was detained on June 19th, along with an unspecified number of other activists, for refusing to leave the scene when asked to do so by officers.
She could face up to six months in prison or a fine if convicted.
Ms. Thunberg had joined the demonstration organised by environmental activist group Ta Tillbaka Framtiden (Reclaim the Future) to protest against the use of fossil fuels.
- “We choose to not be bystanders, and instead physically stop the fossil fuel infrastructure. We are reclaiming the future,” she said in an Instagram post at the time.
A short statement issued by Swedish prosecutors on Wednesday said a “young woman” was being charged with disobedience because she “refused to comply with police orders to leave the scene” during the protest.
The statement did not identify the woman, but Annika Collin, a Swedish Prosecution Authority spokesman, confirmed that it was Ms. Thunberg.
Sydsvenskan reported that she will be called to trial at the end of July.
- Prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen told the paper that the crime of disobedience is typically punishable with fines.
Typically punishable with fines, but perhaps they will make an exception in this case, pour encourager les autres. We can hope.
Source: Will Jones – Daily Sceptic