Greta Thunberg Charged by Swedish Prosecutors Over Climate Protest

Police officers carry Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg away together with other climate activists from the organization Ta Tillbaka Framtiden (Reclaiming the Future), who block the entrance to Oljehamnen neighbourhood in Malmo, Sweden, on June 19, 2023. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been charged by Swedish prosecutors after refusing to comply with requests from law enforcement officials during a protest in the southern city of Malmo last month.

The 20-year-old Swedish native was charged with disobeying a police order to leave the climate demonstration on June 19, during which she and other activists stopped traffic in the oil terminal of the port in Malmo, local newspaper Sydsvenskan reported.

One other climate activist is also being prosecuted over the incident, according to the report.

At the time of the protest, which was organized by Swedish climate group Ta Tillbaka Framtiden, which translates to “Reclaiming the Future,” Ms. Thunberg had taken to Instagram to share images of herself and other demonstrators holding long banners as they sat in the middle of the street.

“Today, for the third day in a row, young activists from @tatillbakaframtiden have blocked oil tankers in the Malmö oil harbour,” she wrote at the time. “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.”

Police on the scene said that around 30 truckers were blocked from entering the port owing to the protests, according to the Huff Post. At least one activist claimed on top of a truck to prevent it from moving forward, police said.

While all of the activists were told to move from the scene, four, including Ms. Thunberg, did not obey police orders and were eventually dragged from the protests, according to the publication.

Initially, Swedish prosecutors did not specifically name Ms. Thunberg in announcing that a young woman was charged with disobedience, instead stating simply that the individual had “refused to comply with police orders to leave the scene” during the protest.

However, Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Annika Collin later confirmed the young woman was, in fact, Ms. Thunberg.

Possible Prison Time

According to Sydsvenskan, Ms. Thunberg will go on trial at the end of July.

If convicted, the climate activists could receive a prison sentence of up to six months or a fine.

“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.

Ms. Thunberg has become the face of the global climate change movement since rising to fame at the age of 15 for protesting outside of Sweden’s Parliament in Stockholm.

She has been detained by police on multiple occasions in the past, including at a coal mine protest in Germany in January this year and a wind farm protest in Oslo in February.

Despite her multiple arrests, Ms. Thunberg has garnered widespread support among celebrities and political figures, and most recently visited Ukraine where she met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the ecological damage as a result of the ongoing Russian invasion and the recent damage to the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Dnipro River in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine.

Responding to the charges against the climate activist on Wednesday, Reclaiming the Future told Agence France-Presse, “After blocking the activities that are burning our future, we are now being charged with criminal offenses.”

“While charges are being brought against us, the real crime is going on inside the doors we have blocked,” the group added.

The Epoch Times has contacted a spokesperson for Ms. Thunberg for comment.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.