Thunberg charged in connection with Swedish climate protest: Report
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The 20-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg is charged with "disobeying police order" when she defied police orders to leave the scene of a protest in Sweden.
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Police officers carry Swedish Greta Thunberg, climate activist, during a protest action after the clearance of Luetzerath, Germany, on January 17, 2023. (AP)
Greta Thunberg, a climate activist, has reportedly been charged with disobeying police during a climate rally in southern Sweden in June, which might result in a fine, as per media reports.
The 20-year-old activist was charged with "disobeying police order" when, according to the Sydsvenskan newspaper, she defied police orders to leave the scene of a protest in the southern city of Malmo in mid-June.
In an effort to oppose the usage of fossil fuels, the environmental activist group "Ta tillbaka framtiden" (Reclaim the Future) sought to block the entrance and exit to the Malmo harbor, and Thunberg joined the demonstration.
In an Instagram post, Thunberg said they "choose to not be bystanders, and instead physically stop the fossil fuel infrastructure. We are reclaiming the future."
Read: Europeans less supportive of climate action if lifestyle changes: Poll
Prosecutor Charlotte Ottesen told Sydsvenskan that while the charge has a maximum penalty of six months in jail, it typically carries a fine instead.
The end of July has been set aside for a hearing at the Malmo district court, according to the newspaper.
Greta Thunberg started her "School Strike for the Climate" in front of Sweden's parliament in Stockholm when she was just 15 years old.
The Fridays for Future movement was founded by her and a small group of young people, and it swiftly spread throughout the world.
Read next: IPCC report indicates dire urgency to avoid climate disaster
Along with her climate strikes, the teenage activist frequently criticizes politicians and government officials for failing to adequately address climate challenges.
At the end of March and after the release of the most recent assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), she denounced what she called an "unprecedented betrayal" from leaders.
Greta Thunberg meets with Zelensky to form 'climate working group'
As part of a proposal to form a "working group" on the environmental damage caused by the war in Ukraine, climate activist Greta Thunberg had a talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week at the presidential palace.
With the presence of former Swedish Deputy PM Margot Wallstroem, European Parliament VP Heidi Hautala, and former Irish President Mary Robinson, Thunberg directed her criticism toward Russia.
The climate activist claimed that Russia was "deliberately targeting the environment and people’s livelihoods and homes. And therefore also destroying lives. Because this is after all a matter of people."
