Police detain Greta Thunberg in Germany during coal mine protest

Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg was detained along with other activists on Tuesday during a protest against the demolition of the coal mining village of Luetzerath but the entire group will be released later in the day, according to police.

“There is no reason to arrest them for days. It may take hours or it will be immediate,” said a spokesman for the regional police in Aachen, speaking of the entire group of protesters.

Thunberg was held during a protest at the opencast coal mine of Garzweiler 2, about nine kilometers from Luetzerath, where she sat with a group of protesters near the edge of the mine.

The demolition of the village in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia was agreed between the energy company RWE and the government in a deal that allowed the energy giant to demolish Lutzerath in exchange for a faster exit from coal and the saving of five scheduled villages. destruction.

Activists say Germany should not mine more lignite coal and should focus on developing renewable energy.

Riot police backed by bulldozers removed activists from buildings in the village with only a few remaining in trees and underground tunnels last weekend, but protesters including Thunberg remained at the site holding a sit-in on Tuesday.

Thunberg was seen sitting alone in a large police bus after having been detained, witnesses said.

He had been “part of a group of activists who rushed to the edge,” an Aachen police spokesman told Reuters, adding that some activists jumped into the mine.

“However, he was stopped and taken with this group out of the immediate danger area.”

He was taken away by three policemen and then escorted to a police car.

Swedish climate activists told about 6,000 protesters who marched to Lutzerath on Saturday, calling the mine’s expansion a “betrayal of current and future generations.”

“Germany is one of the biggest polluters in the world and must be held accountable,” he said.