A court in Sweden fined climate activist Greta Thunberg on Monday for disobeying police orders while blocking traffic during a protest in the harbor of the city of Malmö last month.
“Why is it we – taking action in line with science to stop the fossil fuel industry – who face legal ramifications when the fossil fuel industry continues to destroy people’s chance to live safe and dignified lives?” Ms Thunberg, 20, who is arguably the most prominent climate activist in the world, told reporters out of court on Monday.
The decision came as much of southern Europe has been gripped by scorching heat waves, which have become more frequent and intense due to climate change.
Emma Ohlsson, the prosecutor in the case, said Ms Thunberg was in the harbor with a group of climate protesters last month, blocking the entry and exit of vehicles. An officer initially sat them down to give them a chance to express their views, she said, but about half an hour later, police asked them to move.
Some protesters moved, Ms Ohlsson added, but others, including Ms Thunberg, did not. The police had to physically remove Ms. Thunberg from the street.
Ms. Ohlsson added that Ms. Thunberg told the court that she heard and understood the order, but chose not to follow it.
“We are choosing not to be spectators and instead to physically stop fossil fuel infrastructure,” Ms Thunberg wrote on Instagram at the time. “We are reclaiming the future.”
In court, Ms Thunberg was allowed to question a police officer involved in the episode, according to local media reports, asking how he thought an individual could best slow down the climate crisis.
The officer said that according to the Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan it was a good question and that he did not have a good answer to it.
Ms. Thunberg’s fine was 30 fines of 50 Swedish kronor, for a total of about $150, plus about 1,000 kroner, or about $100, which she must pay to a fund for crime victims. Ms Ohlsson, the prosecutor, said the fine was very small because Ms Thunberg committed a minor offence. Ms. Thunberg also told the court she had no income at this time, the prosecutor noted.
The fine comes as climate protesters around the world have blocked highways and also occupied galleries and targeted artworks, sometimes at great cost to both the protesters and the institutions involved.
Ms Thunberg told reporters outside the courtroom that the fine was expected, but that trials like hers can help the case by drawing attention to it.
“As long as the situation is as it is, we will continue,” she said. “It’s only getting worse,” she added. “We will not back down.”
True to her word, Ms Thunberg took part in another climate protest in Malmö after the hearing. Again she refused to move when asked, and she was taken away by the police.