UK judge dismisses Greta Thunberg protest case

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 £2,500 (US$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.”