Greta Thunberg Fined by Swedish Court For Disobeying Police At Malmo Climate Protest

(Photo : Pexels/Markus Spiske)

A Swedish court fined Greta Thunberg for disobeying police during an environmental protest at an oil facility last month.

According to a CNN report, the 20-year-old climate activist was charged with "the crime of disobedience to law and order" after taking part in a protest that blocked oil tankers in Malmö harbor on June 19.

The prosecution argues that the protest has caused traffic disruptions in Malmö.

"You have the freedom to demonstrate, but you must not demonstrate in such a way that it causes disturbances for others," prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen said, according to Sydsvenskan, as quoted by Strait Times.

According to a Malmö City Court spokesperson, the court placed a fine of about $144 in the form of 30 daily fines of 50 Swedish krona ($4.80).

Greta won't backed down

Thunberg admitted the facts but pleaded not guilty, claiming that the struggle against the fossil fuel sector was a form of self-defense in response to the existential and global threat of climate change.

The young climate activist told the Malmö court that her actions were justifiable, citing the need created by the "climate crisis."

"We must remember who the real criminals are, the ones who are committing the real crime, and that will be true even if we have jailed all climate activists in the world," she told reporters after the hearing, as quoted by New York Post.

According to ABC News, Thunberg showed that she would "definitely not" back down as she returned to the oil terminal with Reclaim the Future activists in the afternoon after her sentence to stage another protest but was eventually removed by the police.

"If the court sees our actions of self-defense as a crime, that's how it is," said Irma Kjellström, a spokesperson for Reclaim the Future who was also present at the June protest.

Monday's trial was Thunberg's first conviction for climate protest.

Earlier this year, Thunberg was temporarily detained by the police in Olso while protesting against wind farms constructed on Indigenous land in Norway.

She was also held in January during protests in Germany over the dismantling of the mining hamlet of Luetzerath.

Threats to climate activists

Many of these climate activists, also known as environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs), are Asian and Pacific youth.

In 2020, 227 lethal attacks against climate activists were recorded, making it the deadliest year for people defending the environment. They mostly happened in Colombia, Mexico, and the Philippines.

Intimidation, harassment, prosecution, stigmatization, and physical attacks are common among young climate activists. Perhaps most alarming are claims that the number of casualties is increasing as the climate catastrophe worsens.

"Every day, environmental human rights defenders face abuse, threats and harassment for their work addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and nature loss," said Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a high-level panel on environmental human rights defenders.

A non-profit organization called Global Witness said that as climate change intensifies, meaningful climate action requires protecting its defenders.