U.K. Judge Tosses Charges Against Greta Thunberg, Other Climate Protesters
HuffPost
“The government should stop prosecuting peaceful protesters, and instead find ways to tackle the climate crisis," defense attorney Raj Chada said.
A British court on Friday dismissed charges against Greta Thunberg and four co-defendants, after finding “significant deficiencies in the evidence” brought by by the prosecution.
In October, the 21-year-old Swedish climate activist was arrested for disobeying police while protesting outside an oil and gas conference in London. Fellow activists Christofer Kebbon, Joshua James Unwin, Jeff Rice and Peter Barker were arrested alongside her.
While a responding officer claimed the group had illegally blocked access to the forum, District Judge John Law found the police orders to disperse were “so unclear that it was unlawful.”
Law also highlighted a general lack of evidence that the “peaceful, civilized and nonviolent” protest was all that disruptive.
“It is quite striking to me that there were no witness statements taken from anyone in the hotel, approximately 1,000 people, or from anyone trying to get in,” Law explained.
