Greta Thunberg acquitted of case over breaking laws during oil protest

Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg was acquitted of breaking public protest laws at a London trial after she was arrested while blockading an oil and gas conference last year.

A London judge ruled Friday that the 21-year-old Swedish activist didn’t break the law because the police didn’t properly organize or communicate the public order to the protesters. Four other climate protesters were also cleared.

The group were arrested on October 17 during a protest at Energy Intelligence Forum at the Intercontinental Hotel where oil and gas executives were speaking.

The trial and arrests highlights how policing of protests has hardened since the Conservative Government pushed through new laws in May after a spate of environmental protests caused disruption to critical infrastructure around the country.

During the two day trial lawyers described how a large number of protesters blocked entrances and exits of the hotel from 7am.

Police imposed a public order act, which means they had to stay in a designated area or face arrest, after protesters refused to stop blocking the hotel’s entry points.

However, the judge said this was not communicated clearly enough and they were not given a reasonable amount of time to reply before being arrested.