A Swedish court found climate activist Greta Thunberg guilty of disobeying police on Monday and fined her 1,500 Swedish Kronor ($144 U.S. dollars) on Monday, Deutsche Welle (DW) reports.
The 20-year-old Thunberg was charged with and convicted of refusing to obey a police order during a June climate protest in the Swedish oil port of Malmö, the Malmö District Court ruled Monday, according to Reuters.
The official charge sheet alleges she took part in a demonstration that held up traffic and that she “refused to obey police orders to leave the site,” per DW. Thunberg admitted she disobeyed police, but pleded not guilty, claiming that her actions were necessary. “It’s correct that I was at that place on that day, and it’s correct that I received an order that I didn’t listen to,” she said according to AFP, “but I want to deny the crime.”
#UPDATE Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg on Monday admitted that she had disobeyed police at a rally last month in the city of Malmo, but denied having committed a crime. pic.twitter.com/uBb87oau3J
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 24, 2023
Thunberg justified her actions as a response to “an emergency that threatens life, health and property.” (RELATED: Doomsday Delayed! Greta Thunberg Deletes Tweet Predicting Climate Apocalypse If Fossil Fuels Aren’t Abandoned By 2023)
Though Thunberg’s crime is technically punishable with up to six months in jail, violators typically only receive fines, prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen told local newspaper Sydsvenskan.
Following the sentencing Thunberg went right back to work, immediately participating in a sit-in protest at an oil tanker depot in Malmö, the same kind of protest that earned her the fine, Sydsvenskan reports.