2024-02-02 17:31:00
The global muse of the fight once morest global warming Greta Thunberg won her trial on Friday in London, where she was on trial for disturbing public order during a demonstration once morest the hydrocarbon industry last October.
• Read also: United Kingdom: Greta Thunberg tried for anti-fossil fuel action
In this new trial in Europe once morest the 21-year-old Swedish activist, the judge at Westminster Magistrates Court, in the center of the British capital, decided to abandon the proceedings, accusing the police of excessive repression.
This decision was welcomed by around ten activists gathered in front of the court, with signs reading: “These are not the climate criminals you are looking for”, or “Protesting 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 London police’s injunction not to block access to the hotel. Like four other activists who appeared with her, she risked a maximum fine of 2,500 pounds (nearly 3,000 euros).
But Judge John Law found that the conditions of the demonstration had been “unreasonably imposed” by the police on the activists present at the scene, and that other measures “were available and might have been put in place “.
Consequently, “anyone who has not respected these rules has not committed an offense,” he added.
These rules were “illegal because they disproportionately contravened our clients’ right to freedom of expression,” insisted Greta Thunberg’s lawyer Raj Chada, in a statement delivered to the court at the end of the trial. .
“The government should stop pursuing peaceful protesters and instead find ways to fight the climate crisis,” he added, urging the government to “stop defending” hydrocarbon exploration projects in the country.
Released under judicial supervision following her arrest, the activist took part in a new demonstration the next day in front of the five-star hotel, 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,” Greta Thunberg told the press on Thursday as she left the court following the first day of hearing.
Shortly following, 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 questioned museum officials regarding one of its sponsors, the Adani conglomerate, particularly active in coal, according to a press release from XR.
“Ridiculous” lawsuits
“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-destructive fossil fuels. climate,” responded the NGO Greenpeace in a press release.
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 permits for the exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits in the North Sea.
Environmental groups like Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion have stepped up their actions to denounce this policy.
Very hostile to these movements, the British government has tightened legislation to punish them more severely and dissuade them from taking action.
Greta Thunberg, who gained worldwide notoriety with her “school climate strikes” that began at the age of 15 in Sweden, regularly takes part in such protests.
In October, it received a fine for blocking the port of Malmö in Sweden.
1706902819
#Charges #dropped #Greta #Thunberg #London #action #trial
