Greta Thunberg has been charged in Sweden with disobeying a police order after she joined a group of climate activists blocking oil tankers at a port in June.
Swedish prosecutors confirmed Wednesday that a “young woman” was charged with disobedience because she “refused to comply with police orders to leave the scene” during the protest.
The statement didn’t identify the defendant, but Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Annika Collin revealed that it was 20-year-old Thunberg.
“You have the freedom to demonstrate, but you must not demonstrate in such a way that it causes disturbances for others,” Swedish prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen said, according to reporting by the local news outlet Sydsvenskan.
On June 19, Thunberg was detained along with several other protesters from the group Ta Tillbaka Framtiden, or “Reclaim the Future,” after they stopped traffic in the city of Malmö’s oil terminal for six days.
That same day, Thunberg wrote in an Instagram post that protesters had blocked the road for oil trucks in Malmö harbor.
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“The climate crisis is already a matter of life and death for countless people. We chose to not be bystanders, and instead physically stop the fossil fuel infrastructure. We are reclaiming the future,” the post read.
Thunberg is scheduled to appear in court on July 24 to answer the disobedience charge, along with three other protestors.
The typically outspoken Thunberg has not commented on the case as of Thursday.
If convicted of the crime, the 20-year-old environmental firebrand could face up to six months in prison, or an unspecified fine.
With Post wires
