In a recent legal development, a UK court has acquitted climate activist Greta Thunberg and four other protesters of a public order offence related to their demonstration outside an oil and gas conference in 2023. The London court judge criticized the police-imposed conditions at the time of Thunberg’s arrest, deeming them “unlawful” and asserting that she had no case to answer.
District Judge John Law, presiding over the case, declared that the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient for a reasonable court to secure convictions. He exercised his discretion to acquit all five defendants, prompting applause and cheers from the packed public gallery.
Judge Law specifically addressed Thunberg and the other defendants, stating, “You are all found not guilty of this offence.” The charges against the Swedish campaigner stemmed from her participation in a protest outside an annual energy industry gathering in London in October 2023.
The court ruling underscored the unlawfulness of the conditions imposed by the police during the environmental protest, which ultimately led to the arrest of numerous demonstrators. Thunberg, along with the other activists, had faced the charge of violating a public order law, with a potential maximum fine of £2,500 ($3,177) if convicted.
In November of the previous year, Thunberg had pleaded not guilty alongside two Fossil Free London (FFL) campaigners and two Greenpeace activists. The court’s decision brings legal clarity to the circumstances surrounding Thunberg’s arrest and reinforces the importance of respecting lawful protest rights.
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