Climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested by Danish police during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at the University of Copenhagen on Wednesday.
Thunberg, 21, and student organizers were arrested shortly after protestors entered an administrative building that houses the office of the rector, the university’s head official. The student group that organized the protest, Students Against the Occupation, said they were there to demand the university institute an academic boycott of Israeli universities.
The student group, which had previously organized an encampment at the University of Copenhagen, shared video of Thunberg being escorted into the back of a police vehicle in handcuffs. Thunberg can be seen wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional Arabic scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (C) is pictured during the demonstration ‘Academic Boycott Now!’ as ‘Students Against Occupation’ march from the University of Copenhagen’s City Campus to Vor Frue Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Sep. 4, 2024.
Emil Nicolai Helms / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP
Students Against the Occupation later posted on its Instagram story that “actionists” were released earlier that day. According to Danish media reports, Thunberg was seen leaving the police station.
A spokesperson with Danish police told Reuters that six people were detained at the university after about 20 people blocked the entrance to the building and three others entered. The spokesperson did not comment on individual detainees.
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In a Wednesday press release, Students Against Occupation wrote about its plans to occupy the building that houses the rector’s office.
“As Palestinian civilians are killed every day in Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the University of Copenhagen continues its collaboration with Israeli universities, which actively support the occupation of Palestine,” the student group wrote.
“That is why we are occupying the University of Copenhagen’s Museumsbygning at Frue Plads, which houses the rector’s office. We will not leave the site until the University of Copenhagen terminates cooperation with Israeli universities.”
The organization highlights the University of Copenhagen’s exchange program with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which is located in the occupied West Bank.
The University of Copenhagen told Reuters that it may take disciplinary action against students who took part in Wednesday’s protest. Thunberg, a Swedish climate activist, is not a student at the university.
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