LONDON — Climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested in London on Tuesday for holding up a sign supporting pro-Palestinian activists on hunger strike in British prisons.
In a video shared by protest group Prisoners for Palestine, Thunberg, 22, can be seen holding a sign reading “I support Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide.”
Palestine Action, a direct action protest group based in the United Kingdom, was listed as a terrorist organization by the British government in July, after causing millions of dollars of damage to defense companies.
Since the ban, hundreds of people have been arrested across the country for taking part in protests against the ban, which has since been challenged at the High Court in London.
In a video shared by Prisoners for Palestine, the group said it targeted Aspen Insurance offices in central London because they provide services to Israel-linked defense company Elbit Systems.
Two activists sprayed red paint on the facade of the building before police arrived and made arrests.
Asked about Thunberg’s arrest by NBC News, the City of London Police said in a statement that “hammers and red paint were used to damage a building on Fenchurch Street.”
“A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. They have stuck together nearby and specialist officers are working to free them and take them into custody,” the statement added.
“Shortly afterwards, a 22-year-old woman also attended the scene. She was arrested for holding up an object (in this case a sign) in support of a banned organization (in this case Palestine Action), contrary to section 13 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 2000.”
British police never release the names of those arrested. Only after people have been charged are their names made public.
Last year, Thunberg was cleared of a public order offense in Britain, after a judge ruled that police did not have the power to arrest her and others during a protest in London the previous year.
But Thunberg has been outspoken in her support for the people of the Gaza Strip and was arrested by Israeli authorities while sailing on boats attempting to deliver a symbolic cargo of aid to the Palestinian enclave by sea.
Gaza has been under an Israeli naval blockade since 2007, when Hamas took power.
Thunberg said the missions were essential amid global silence over Israeli military action in Gaza, much of which has been reduced to rubble during two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli forces have killed more than 70,000 Palestinians since the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage.
