Greta Thunberg arrested by Dutch police | Global News

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was detained twice by police in the Netherlands on Saturday after protesters blocked roads in The Hague. The 21-year-old was among dozens of people held after demonstrators partially obstructed a road in the city. After being released, Thunberg quickly rejoined a small group of protesters blocking a different road leading to a railway station, where she was detained a second time and taken away in a police van.

Speaking to journalists, Thunberg emphasized the urgency of the climate crisis, stating, “We are in a planetary emergency and we are not going to stand by and let people lose their lives and livelihood and be forced to become climate refugees when we can do something.” The protesters were rallying against Dutch subsidies and tax breaks given to companies associated with the fossil fuel industry.

The Extinction Rebellion group had planned to block a main road into The Hague, but a heavy police presence initially prevented them from doing so. Despite this, a small group managed to sit down on another road and were subsequently detained for ignoring police orders to disperse. This is not the first time Thunberg has faced legal consequences for her activism, as she was acquitted by a London court in February for refusing to leave a protest blocking the entrance to an oil and gas industry conference.

Thunberg’s activism has sparked a global youth movement demanding stronger action to combat climate change since she began her weekly protests outside the Swedish parliament in 2018. She has faced fines in both Sweden and the UK for civil disobedience related to her protests.