Climate activist Greta Thunberg and her four co-defendants were acquitted on Friday of charges of refusing to follow a police order to leave a protest blocking the entrance to a major oil and gas industry conference in London last year. Judge John Law cleared them of the criminal charge of breaching the Public Order Act, citing significant deficiencies in the evidence presented by the prosecutor.
During the trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Judge Law criticized the police for their handling of the situation, stating that they could have applied less restrictive measures and that their order to disperse was unclear and therefore unlawful. He also noted that the demonstration attended by Thunberg was peaceful, civilized, and nonviolent.
