Charges dropped against Greta Thunberg

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Climate activist Greta Thunberg reacts outside Westminster Magistrates Court in London.

Agence France-Presse

The world's muse for the fight against global warming Greta Thunberg won her trial in London on Friday, where she was on trial for disturbing public order during a demonstration against climate change. x27;hydrocarbon industry, last October.

In this new trial in Europe against the 21-year-old Swedish activist , the judge at Westminster Magistrates Court, in the center of the British capital, decided to drop the charges, criticizing the police for excessive repression.

This decision was welcomed by around ten activists gathered in front of the court, with signs on which was written: These are not the climate criminals you are looking for, or Demonstrate for the climate is not a crime.

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 London.

Greta Thunberg was prosecuted for not having complied with the injunction of the London police not to block access to the hotel. Like four other activists who appeared with her, she faced a maximum fine of 2,500 pounds (approximately CA$4,250).

But Judge John Law found that the conditions of the demonstration had been unreasonably imposed by the police on the activists at the scene, and that other measures were available and could have been implemented.

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Therefore, anyone who does not follow these rules does not ;did not commit an offense, he added.

These rules were illegal because they disproportionately contravened our clients' right to freedom of expression, Greta Thunberg's lawyer Raj Chada insisted in a statement to the court. court following the trial.

The government should stop prosecuting peaceful protesters and instead find ways to combat the climate crisis, he added, urging the government to stop defending hydrocarbon exploration projects in the country.

Released under judicial supervision after her arrest, the activist took part the next day in a new demonstration in front of the five-star hotel, along with hundreds of other people.

Environmental and human rights activists around the world are being prosecuted for acting in accordance with science. We must remember who the real enemy is.

A quote from Greta Thunberg, leaving the court after the first day of hearing, Thursday

Shortly after, accompanied by activists from the Extinction Rebellion (XR) group, she was invited to a conference on scientific forecasts organized by the Science Museum in London, and had questioned museum officials about one of its sponsors, the Adani conglomerate, particularly active in coal, according to a press release from XR.

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It is ridiculous that more and more climate activists are finding themselves in court […] while fossil fuel giants, like Shell, are allowed to make billions in profits selling climate-destroying fossil fuels .

A quote from the Greenpeace organization

In the United Kingdom , the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has attracted the anger of environmental activists, part of the political class and even its own camp for its reversals on key measures of its climate policy.

He is particularly criticized for having decided to grant new operating permits for hydrocarbon deposits in the North Sea.

Environmental groups like Just Stop Oil or Extinction Rebellion have multiplied actions to denounce this policy.

Very hostile to these movements, the British government has toughened legislation for punish them more severely and dissuade them from taking action.

Greta Thunberg, who acquired world famous with his 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, Sweden.