Relief for Greta Thunberg.
A British judge decided Friday to drop charges against the environmental activist who appeared in London for disturbing public order during a demonstration against the hydrocarbon industry last October in London.
On the second day of this trial, the judge at Westminster Magistrates Court ruled that the police officers responsible for securing the demonstration had imposed “unlawful” conditions and had not been sufficiently precise in addressing their instructions to the 21-year-old Swede, who was on trial with four other demonstrators.
Week 285. Today we are unable to have a climate strike.
I'm one of 5 activists in a trial in London for peacefully protesting against an oil conference in October.
The demonstration aimed to highlight the terrible consequence of the everyday business of fossil corporations.
🧵 pic.twitter.com/hKJmhTK2WO
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) February 2, 2024
In total, 26 activists were arrested on October 17 for disrupting access to the Energy Intelligence Forum, a conference which brought together the main oil and gas companies in a luxury hotel in the British capital.
The young activist was being prosecuted for not having complied with the London police's injunction not to block access to the hotel where this rally took place.
But the conditions of the demonstration were "unreasonably imposed" by police on activists at the scene, and other measures "were available and could have been put in place", Judge John Law said .
Therefore, “anyone who has not respected these rules has not committed an offense,” he added.
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At a previous hearing in November, Greta Thunberg pleaded not guilty, like the four other activists who appeared with her.
She risked a maximum fine of 2,500 pounds (nearly 3,000 euros).
Released under judicial supervision after her arrest, the next day she took part in a new demonstration in front of the five-star hotel, with hundreds of other people.
Already stopped
“Even though we are the ones standing here, (…) environmental and human rights activists all over the world are being prosecuted (…) for acting in accordance with science.
We must remember who the real enemy is,” Greta Thunberg told the press on Thursday as she left Westminster Magistrates Court after the first day of hearings.
“Today’s verdict (Friday) is a victory for the freedom to demonstrate.
It is ridiculous that more and more climate activists are ending up in court for peacefully exercising their right to protest, while fossil fuel giants, like Shell, are allowed to make billions in profits selling fossil fuels. destructive for the climate,” responded the NGO Greenpeace in a press release.
Greta Thunberg, who gained worldwide notoriety with her “School Climate Strikes” started at the age of 15 in Sweden, regularly takes part in such demonstrations.
In October, she was fined for blocking the port of Malmö in Sweden and was forcibly taken away by police during a demonstration against the use of coal in Germany in January.
VIDEO.
Activist Greta Thunberg fined after refusal to comply
Last weekend, she took part in a march in the south of England against the expansion of Farnborough Airport, which is mainly used by private jets.