Greta Thunberg tried to deny compliance in Sweden

The first trial of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg begins on Monday in Malmö, southern Sweden, where she will stand trial for defying police orders during an action in mid-June during which she and other activists blocked the city’s port.

Charged with “refusal to comply”, the woman is due to appear in court in Malmö at 11:30 am local time (09:30 GMT). Irma Kjellström, a spokeswoman for the environmental organization “Ta Tilbakka Framtiden” (“Demand the future”), confirmed to AFP she would attend.

On 19 June the climate activist “took part in a demonstration that disrupted traffic”, according to the complaint seen by AFP. “He refused to obey police orders to leave the scene.”

On that day, 20-year-old Greta Thunberg took part in an action at the port of Malmö with the organization “Ta Tilbaka Framtiden”, whose activists blocked entrances and exits in protest against fossil fuel use by immobilizing vehicles and tank trucks.

Greta Thunberg said in an Instagram post at the time, “We are choosing not to remain spectators, and (…) physically shutting down fossil fuel infrastructure. We are reclaiming the future.”

During her questioning with police, Ms. Thunberg protested a brief “no comment” to questions asked by the investigator, according to the preliminary investigation report, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

– “Burn Our Lives” –

The organization “Ta Tilbaaka Framtiden” remains determined to fight against the fossil fuel industry.

“If the court wants to see our action (disrupting traffic) as a crime, it can do so, but we know that we have a right to live, and the fossil fuel industry is blocking this right”, reacted AFP Irma Kjellström of “Ta Tilbaka Framtiden”, who specified that in total, six activists of the organization will also be prosecuted after the action at the port of Malmö.

He claimed a course of action of civil disobedience, saying, “We the youth are not going to wait, but are going to do what we can to stop this industry that is burning our lives.”

Greta Thunberg could face a maximum sentence of six months in prison, but the charge under consideration usually carries a fine, according to Charlotte Ottosson, the prosecutor in charge of the case.

On a Friday in August 2018, the activist, then 15 years old and completely unknown, held a sit-in in front of the Swedish parliament for the first time with a sign “School strike for climate”.

Within months, young people from Berlin to Sydney, from San Francisco to Johannesburg followed suit, and the “Fridays for Future” movement was born.

In addition to her climate protests, Greta Thunberg regularly attacks politicians and governments for climate inaction.