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German police officers carry Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg away from the edge of a coal mine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on January 17, 2023.
(Photo: Roberto Pfeil/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Greta Thunberg Detained Defending German Village From Coal Mining
The Swedish climate campaigner had called out the "outrageous" police violence in the region as well as the governments and corporations "destroying the environment, putting countless people at risk."
Jan 17, 2023
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among the demonstrators detained by German police on Tuesday while protesting the destruction of the village Lützerath to expand an open-pit coal mine.
After arriving in Germany last week to support local campaigners battling the expansion, 20-year-old Thunberg joined activists staging a sit-in nearly six miles from the Lützerath, at the edge of the mine owned by energy utility RWE.
"Greta Thunberg was part of a group of activists who rushed towards the ledge. However, she was then stopped and carried by us with this group out of the immediate danger area to establish their identity," a spokesperson for Aachen police told Reuters, noting that one activist jumped into the mine.
According to Reuters:
It was not yet clear what would happen to Thunberg or the group she was detained with, or whether the activist who jumped into the mine was injured, the spokesperson said, adding the police would provide an update within the hour.
Thunberg was carried away by three policemen and held by one arm at a spot further away from the edge of the mine where she was previously sat with the group.
She was then escorted back towards police vans.
As Common Dreams previously reported, while visiting Lützerath on Friday, Thunberg said that it was "horrible to see what's happening here" and called out the "outrageous... police violence" occurring in the area.
"We expect to show what people power looks like, what democracy looks like," she vowed. "When governments and corporations are acting like this, destroying the environment, putting countless people at risk, the people step up."
On Saturday, the Fridays for Future founder joined thousands of people who rallied against the destruction of Lützerath. The New York Times noted that police used "water cannons and nightsticks to prevent protesters from charging the site, even though by then the village was virtually empty and many of its trees already felled."
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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among the demonstrators detained by German police on Tuesday while protesting the destruction of the village Lützerath to expand an open-pit coal mine.
After arriving in Germany last week to support local campaigners battling the expansion, 20-year-old Thunberg joined activists staging a sit-in nearly six miles from the Lützerath, at the edge of the mine owned by energy utility RWE.
"Greta Thunberg was part of a group of activists who rushed towards the ledge. However, she was then stopped and carried by us with this group out of the immediate danger area to establish their identity," a spokesperson for Aachen police told Reuters, noting that one activist jumped into the mine.
According to Reuters:
It was not yet clear what would happen to Thunberg or the group she was detained with, or whether the activist who jumped into the mine was injured, the spokesperson said, adding the police would provide an update within the hour.
Thunberg was carried away by three policemen and held by one arm at a spot further away from the edge of the mine where she was previously sat with the group.
She was then escorted back towards police vans.
As Common Dreams previously reported, while visiting Lützerath on Friday, Thunberg said that it was "horrible to see what's happening here" and called out the "outrageous... police violence" occurring in the area.
"We expect to show what people power looks like, what democracy looks like," she vowed. "When governments and corporations are acting like this, destroying the environment, putting countless people at risk, the people step up."
On Saturday, the Fridays for Future founder joined thousands of people who rallied against the destruction of Lützerath. The New York Times noted that police used "water cannons and nightsticks to prevent protesters from charging the site, even though by then the village was virtually empty and many of its trees already felled."
From Your Site Articles
- German Cops Forcibly Clear Climate Activists From Abandoned Hamlet Marked for Coal Mining ›
- Thousands Rally in the Rain to Protest Destruction of German Village for Coal Mine ›
- Greta Thunberg Among Activists Charged With Disobeying Cops During Swedish Climate Protest ›
- 'Climate Protesters Are Not the Criminals': Case Against Greta Thunberg Thrown Out ›
- Greta Thunberg Detained at Brussels Climate Protest Against Fossil Fuel Subsidies | Common Dreams ›
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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among the demonstrators detained by German police on Tuesday while protesting the destruction of the village Lützerath to expand an open-pit coal mine.
After arriving in Germany last week to support local campaigners battling the expansion, 20-year-old Thunberg joined activists staging a sit-in nearly six miles from the Lützerath, at the edge of the mine owned by energy utility RWE.
"Greta Thunberg was part of a group of activists who rushed towards the ledge. However, she was then stopped and carried by us with this group out of the immediate danger area to establish their identity," a spokesperson for Aachen police told Reuters, noting that one activist jumped into the mine.
According to Reuters:
It was not yet clear what would happen to Thunberg or the group she was detained with, or whether the activist who jumped into the mine was injured, the spokesperson said, adding the police would provide an update within the hour.
Thunberg was carried away by three policemen and held by one arm at a spot further away from the edge of the mine where she was previously sat with the group.
She was then escorted back towards police vans.
As Common Dreams previously reported, while visiting Lützerath on Friday, Thunberg said that it was "horrible to see what's happening here" and called out the "outrageous... police violence" occurring in the area.
"We expect to show what people power looks like, what democracy looks like," she vowed. "When governments and corporations are acting like this, destroying the environment, putting countless people at risk, the people step up."
On Saturday, the Fridays for Future founder joined thousands of people who rallied against the destruction of Lützerath. The New York Times noted that police used "water cannons and nightsticks to prevent protesters from charging the site, even though by then the village was virtually empty and many of its trees already felled."
From Your Site Articles
- German Cops Forcibly Clear Climate Activists From Abandoned Hamlet Marked for Coal Mining ›
- Thousands Rally in the Rain to Protest Destruction of German Village for Coal Mine ›
- Greta Thunberg Among Activists Charged With Disobeying Cops During Swedish Climate Protest ›
- 'Climate Protesters Are Not the Criminals': Case Against Greta Thunberg Thrown Out ›
- Greta Thunberg Detained at Brussels Climate Protest Against Fossil Fuel Subsidies | Common Dreams ›
Related Articles Around the Web
- Greta Thunberg joins protest against coal mine expansion in ... ›
- Greta Thunberg joins climate activists protesting coal mine ... ›
- Greta Thunberg to join climate activists facing off with German police ... ›
- Greta Thunberg joins anti-coal activists to save German village ... ›
- Thunberg: Coal worse than keeping German nuclear plants on | AP ... ›
- Greta Thunberg calls for protest against expansion of German ... ›
- Lützerath: Greta Thunberg joins German coal mine protests - BBC ... ›
- Greta Thunberg removed from site of mass anti-coal protest in ... ›
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