Greta Thunberg detained: In a major development, climate activist Greta Thunberg was detained by German police on Tuesday while she was protesting against the demolition of the coal village of Luetzerath. According to police officials, he was detained along with his group members and said they would be freed later in the day.
The protests in several places in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia came a day after two previous climate activists were found hiding in a tunnel beneath the village of Luetzerth. Dozens of climate activists affixed themselves to a main street in Germany’s western city of Cologne and to a state government building in Düsseldorf.
Near Romerskirchen, a group of about 120 workers occupied the coal rail tracks for the Neurath power plant, according to police and the energy company RWE. DPA reported that those who refused to leave the tracks were taken away.
The police evacuated the village itself
In addition, many people occupied a giant digger at Inden’s coal mine, while hundreds of other protesters joined a protest march near Luetzerth. In recent days, the police had evacuated the village itself and it has been sealed.
German news agency DPA reported that Thunberg was one of several protesters who were taken from the edge of the mine by police in the afternoon. DPA said a protester was able to enter the mine, with RWE describing the move as “very reckless”. Police and RWE began clearing protesters from Luetzerath on 11 January, removing roadblocks, chopping down treehouses and demolishing buildings. Activists have cited Luetzerath’s symbolic importance for years, and on Saturday thousands demonstrated against the razing of the village by RWE for the expansion of the Garzweiler coal mine.
(with inputs from AP)
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