The Swedish environmental activist participated in a demonstration against the extension of a coal mine in the west of the country. It was released after a few hours of police custody.
The Swedish ecologist activist Greta Thunberg and other demonstrators spent a few hours in police custody on Tuesday, January 17 after protesting the extension of a coal mine in western Germany, announced Local police.
The group of demonstrators had been arrested after approaching the mine, an immense pit from which lignite is extracted, a particularly polluting fuel.
“They were transported by bus outside the dangerous area”, their identity was verified, then they were released, a spokesman for the local police, adding that had lasted “several hours”.
In photos, Greta Thunberg, dressed in black, is shown run by police and then carried by them as part of his evacuation.
The Swedish activist has been in Germany for several days to support the opponents of the extension of the largest open -air mine in the country, in the Rhinenan basin, which must soon swallow an abandoned hamlet named Lützerath.
This hamlet occupied by climate defenders who wanted to prevent its destruction was evacuated by the police. Several hundred people refugees in abandoned trees and farms have been dislodged by the police.
Despite the end of the police operation, which lasted several days, the opponents do not disarm. They had organized a demonstration on Saturday which brought together more than 15,000 participants from all over Germany. Scuffles have made several dozen wounded among the demonstrators and the police. Police have been accused of violence.
Germany accused of renouncing its climate commitments
Protest actions continued on Tuesday with occupations of railway tracks, blockages of roads and buildings, especially in western Germany.
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The Lignite mine, which belongs to the German energy group RWE, is located between Cologne and Düsseldorf. Its extension, planned for several years, is deemed necessary for the energy security of Germany which must compensate for the interruption of Russian gas deliveries.
Ecologists activists believe that the current lignite reserves are sufficient and denounce from Germany a serious renunciation of its climate commitments.