Greta Thunberg was fined on Monday after she disobeyed the police’s orders during a protest last month.
The 20-year-old Swedish environmental activist took part in a protest that disrupted traffic while refusing to obey police orders to leave the site.
She appeared in court in the southern Swedish city of Malmö after 11:00 on Monday.
“It is true that I was there that day and received orders, which I did not listen to. But I deny that I have committed any crime,” Thunberg said in court when she was questioned about the complaints against her.
According to Thunberg, she acted out of necessity, referring to the need to tackle the climate crisis.
“I believe we are experiencing an emergency, and then my actions were legal,” the climate campaigner told reporters after the short hearing.
Thunberg was fined 1,500 Swedish kroner (about R2,577) plus an additional 1,000 Swedish kroner (about R1,716) to the Swedish fund for victims of crime.
The crime Thunberg was convicted of carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison. In most cases fines are issued.
The rally was organized by the environmental activist group Ta utsakt framðin (known in English as Reclaim the Future).
Demonstrators tried to block the entrance and exit to the Malmö port to protest against the use of fossil fuels.
Six members of the activist group will also appear in court in Malmö.
‘We will not back down’
Although Thunberg has been tapped, she nevertheless says she is not going to back down.
“We know that we cannot save the world by following the rules; the laws must be changed,” said the activist.
“It is absurd that those who act in accordance with science, those who stick a stick in front of the fossil fuel industry, are the ones who have to pay the price.”
Thunberg gained world fame after she began to strike for the climate in front of Sweden’s parliament in Stockholm at the age of 15.
She and a small group of youth founded the Fridays for Future movement, which quickly became a global phenomenon.
In addition to her climate strikes, the young activist regularly challenges governments and politicians for not tackling climate issues properly.
The Reclaim the Future group insists that despite the legal pressure, it remains unwavering in its determination to stand up to the fossil fuel industry.
“If the court chooses to view our actions as a crime, it can do so, but we know we have the right to live and the fossil fuel industry stands in the way of that,” said Irma Kjellstrom, spokeswoman for the group.
“Our young people are not going to wait, but will do what we can to stop this industry, because our lives depend on it.”
