According to the AP, climate activist Greta Thunberg began her trial on Thursday after she refused to disband a demonstration that was obstructing the entry to a major oil and gas sector conference in London last year. The Energy Intelligence Forum was being attended by some of the top executives in the business, and on October 17th, Thunberg, 21, was one of more than two dozen protestors detained for blocking entry to a hotel.
Accused of violating a Public Order Act provision that permits police to restrict public gatherings, the Swedish environmental activist and four other demonstrators will go on trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court for two days. She entered a not guilty plea along with four other Fossil Free London protestors.
Fossil fuel corporations are allegedly purposefully delaying the global energy transition to renewables in order to increase profits, according to Thunberg and other climate protestors. Additionally, they disagree with the UK government's recent permission of oil drilling off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea. Wearing a black T-shirt and black slacks, Thunberg sat in court and took notes as a policeman described attempts to disperse protesters who had blocked several doors and exits for hours outside the opulent InterContinental Hotel in central London. Superintendent Matthew Cox said, "It appeared like a very purposeful effort... to deny entrance to the hotel for the majority of delegates and the guests." "It was incredibly difficult for people to get inside the hotel."
Some activists took to the ground, according to Cox, while others lit multicolored fireworks and drummers produced a loud racket outside the hotel. Other demonstrators swiftly moved in to take the place of the officers who were making arrests, creating a "perpetual loop" in which the police ran out of policemen to make arrests.
After around five hours of protesting, Thunberg was informed she would be detained at the front door. Her statement that she intended to remain where she was led to her arrest.
Her actions, included stopping traffic during an environmental demonstration at an oil refinery and defying police, resulted in a punishment from a Swedish court last summer. In Sweden, she had already paid a fine for the identical crime.
Accused of violating a Public Order Act provision that permits police to restrict public gatherings, the Swedish environmental activist and four other demonstrators will go on trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court for two days. She entered a not guilty plea along with four other Fossil Free London protestors.
Fossil fuel corporations are allegedly purposefully delaying the global energy transition to renewables in order to increase profits, according to Thunberg and other climate protestors. Additionally, they disagree with the UK government's recent permission of oil drilling off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea. Wearing a black T-shirt and black slacks, Thunberg sat in court and took notes as a policeman described attempts to disperse protesters who had blocked several doors and exits for hours outside the opulent InterContinental Hotel in central London. Superintendent Matthew Cox said, "It appeared like a very purposeful effort... to deny entrance to the hotel for the majority of delegates and the guests." "It was incredibly difficult for people to get inside the hotel."
Some activists took to the ground, according to Cox, while others lit multicolored fireworks and drummers produced a loud racket outside the hotel. Other demonstrators swiftly moved in to take the place of the officers who were making arrests, creating a "perpetual loop" in which the police ran out of policemen to make arrests.
After around five hours of protesting, Thunberg was informed she would be detained at the front door. Her statement that she intended to remain where she was led to her arrest.
Her actions, included stopping traffic during an environmental demonstration at an oil refinery and defying police, resulted in a punishment from a Swedish court last summer. In Sweden, she had already paid a fine for the identical crime.
