Greta Thunberg charged with disobeying police orders during a protest in Sweden
(CNN) — Sweden’s Prosecution Authority has charged climate activist Greta Thunberg with disobeying law enforcement after she allegedly refused to leave the scene of a climate protest in Malmö in June
“The prosecutor has filed charges against a young woman who, on June 19 this year, participated in a climate demonstration which, according to the prosecution, caused disruption to traffic in Malmö,” the statement said. The woman “refused to obey the police command to leave the scene,” it added.
While the statement does not identify Thunberg by name, a spokesperson for the Swedish Prosecution Authority, Annika Collin, confirmed to CNN that the woman referred to is Thunberg.
“The criminal classification is disobedience to law enforcement. According to the prosecutor, the act was committed with intent,” the prosecution authority’s statement added.
Thunberg faces a fine or a sentence of up to six months in jail, according to the prosecution authority.
The charges relate to Thunberg’s participation in a protest organized by the activist group Ta Tillbaka Framtiden, which blocked oil tankers in part of Malmö harbor.
“Today, for the third day in a row, young activists from @tatillbakaframtiden have blocked oil tankers in the Malmö oil harbour. The climate crisis is already a matter of life and death for countless people. We choose to not be bystanders, and instead physically stop the fossil fuel infrastructure. We are reclaiming the future,” Thunberg said in an Instagram post during the protest.
Irma Kjellström, spokesperson for Ta Tillbaka Framtiden, said Thunberg was one of many young people blocking oil tankers. “After having blocked the industry which is burning our future, we have now been charged with crime. While charges are being brought against us, the real crime continues inside the gates that we blocked,” she told CNN.
A spokesperson for Thunberg told CNN she was unavailable for comment.
In January, Thunberg was detained by police during a protest in the village of Lützerath, Germany, over the expansion of a coal mine. She was released later the same day.