24/7 Space News
CLIMATE SCIENCE
UK judge dismisses Greta Thunberg protest case
UK judge dismisses Greta Thunberg protest case
By Marie HEUCLIN
London (AFP) Feb 2, 2024

A London court threw out a public order case on Friday against climate activist Greta Thunberg and four other protesters, with the judge criticising "unlawful" conditions imposed by police when they were arrested.

District judge John Law dismissed the cases against the 21-year-old Swedish campaigner and the four other activists on the second day of their trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

He ruled that police deployed in the British capital in October at an environmental protest had attempted to impose "unlawful" conditions before officers arrested dozens of demonstrators.

Thunberg, a global figure in the fight against climate change, was among dozens held for disrupting access to the Energy Intelligence Forum, a major oil and gas conference attended by companies at a luxury hotel.

She had pleaded not guilty in November to breaching a public order law, alongside two protesters from the Fossil Free London (FFL) campaign group and two Greenpeace activists.

In his ruling, Law said the conditions imposed on the demonstrators were "so unclear that it is unlawful", which meant "anyone failing to comply were actually committing no offence".

Thunberg and the other defendants had faced a maximum fine of GBP2,500 ($3,177) if convicted.

Her lawyer, Raj Chada, said the case against them had been "rightly dismissed", arguing that the police stipulations "disproportionately interfered with our client's rights to free speech".

He added: "The government should stop prosecuting peaceful protesters and instead find ways to tackle the climate crisis."

- 'Ridiculous' -

Christofer Kebbon, one of the other defendants from FFL, told reporters that the five "shouldn't be here in court".

He condemned "the climate criminals who are continuing their business as usual and destroying this planet".

Thunberg, who came to worldwide attention as a 15-year-old by staging school strikes in her native Sweden, regularly takes part in climate change-related demonstrations.

She was fined in October for blocking the port of Malmo in Sweden, a few months after police forcibly removed her during a demonstration against the use of coal in Germany.

She also joined a march last weekend in southern England to protest against the expansion of Farnborough airport, which is mainly used by private jets.

Demonstrators had greeted the October forum participants with cries of "shame on you!".

Some carried placards reading "Stop Rosebank", a reference to a controversial new North Sea oil field the British government authorised in September.

Police said officers had arrested Thunberg for failing to adhere to an order not to block the street where the rally was taking place.

Greenpeace UK campaigner Maja Darlington hailed Friday's verdict as "a victory for the right to protest".

She added: "It is ridiculous that more and more climate activists are finding themselves in court for peacefully exercising their right to protest, while fossil fuel giants like Shell are allowed to reap billions in profits from selling climate-wrecking fossil fuels."

jj/phz/gil

Shell

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Activists spray paint on Rome fountain in circus animal protest
Rome (AFP) Feb 1, 2024
Two activists from Italian campaign group Animal Rebellion threw paint Thursday over the lion fountain in Rome's iconic Piazza del Popolo, to protest against the presence of animals in circuses. They used what they said was washable yellow and red paint, before putting up a banner saying: "End animals in circuses." Tourists in the historic city centre square took photos with their phones before cleaners arrived to wash off the paint, some of which dripped into the water. In a statement, the ... read more

CLIMATE SCIENCE
China warns US tech curbs will 'come back to bite them'

Virgin Galactic Marks 11th Spaceflight with Full Passenger Manifest

NASA's latest experiments aboard ISS aim to boost life in space

Northrop Grumman marks 20th ISS resupply mission with Cygnus launch

CLIMATE SCIENCE
MITRE and MDC team up to advance at Midland Spaceport

Starlab Partners with SpaceX to Launch Private Space Laboratory into Orbit

Sidus Space's 3D Hybrid satellite 'LizzieSat' ready for launch

Rocket Lab starts busy year with successful booster recovery

CLIMATE SCIENCE
As Ingenuity's mission ends a news era in flight on other planets and moons begins

After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends

Confirmation of ancient lake on Mars builds excitement for Perseverance rover's samples

NASA helicopter's mission ends after three years on Mars

CLIMATE SCIENCE
BIT advances microbiological research on Chinese Space Station

Shenzhou 18 and 19 crews undertake intensive training for next missions

Tianzhou 6 burns up safely reentering Earth

Yan Hongsen's future dreams as 'Rocket Boy'

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Into the Starfield

Sidus ships LizzieSat to Vandenberg for upcoming SpaceX launch

Rocket Lab Launches $275 Million Convertible Note Offering for 2029 Maturity

SpaceFund Welcomes Business Veteran Leo Rodriguez to Board

CLIMATE SCIENCE
SmallCAT Laser Terminal Demonstrates Effective Space-Earth Communication in LEO

New rule for catalysts' design is as easy as counting to ten

The ShAPE of buildings to come: Scrap aluminum transforms recycling life cycle

Turning Cooking Oil By-Products and CO2 into Valuable Industrial Additives

CLIMATE SCIENCE
Direct detection of amino acids and hydrocarbons in meteorites

UC Irvine-led team unravels mysteries of planet formation and evolution in distant solar system

NASA's Hubble Finds Water Vapor in Small Exoplanet's Atmosphere

TESS finds Super-Earth in habitable zone around nearby red dwarf

CLIMATE SCIENCE
New images reveal what Neptune and Uranus really look like

Researchers reveal true colors of Neptune, Uranus

The PI's Perspective: The Long Game

Webb rings in the holidays with the ringed planet Uranus

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.