Climate activist Greta Thunberg and four co-defendants were acquitted of refusing to follow a police order to leave a protest blocking the entrance to an oil and gas industry conference in London last year, Associated Press reports.
The judge cited “significant deficiencies in the evidence” presented by the prosecutor, noting that police could have taken less restrictive measures and the order to disperse was “so unclear that it was unlawful.” Thunberg was charged with breaching the Public Order Act and could have faced a fine of up to £2,500 if convicted.
Thunberg and protesters accuse fossil fuel companies of hindering the transition to renewables and oppose the UK government’s approval of oil drilling in the North Sea.
