A Swedish court has fined Greta Thunberg for defying authorities during a demonstration. 

The climate activist admitted to having disobeyed police orders during a protest outside of an oil facility last month. 

However, she denied any guilt over her behaviour, arguing her actions constituted a form of ‘self defence’ against the global threat of climate change. 

She said after the verdict that humanity ‘cannot save the world by playing by the rules,’ adding she would ‘definitely not’ be backing down. 

The court nevertheless disagreed with her reasoning and fined her 2,500 kronor (approximately £187). 

Ms Thunberg was among several youth members of the Reclaim the Future movement charged for refusing police orders to disperse when they blocked road access to an oil terminal in Malmo, southern Sweden, on June 19. 

Irma Kjellstrom, a spokesperson for the movement who was also present at the demonstration, said: ‘If the court sees our actions of self-defence as a crime, that’s how it is. [Activists] have to be exactly where the harm is being done.’

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Ms Thunberg and her fellow activists returned to the oil terminal just hours after sentencing to stage a further roadblock. 

Amid the double-heatwave that has battered Europe over the past few weeks, their protest comes as extraordinary temperatures have sparked devastating wildfires across Greece. 

More than 19,000 people have been evacuated from the island of Rhodes, with many hundreds still stranded at the beaches and the airport, as high-speed winds have fanned the spread of the flames.  

Starting from Monday evening, four repatriation flights are planned to help those still left on the island escape, as anger continues to mount over what’s been slammed as an inadequate handling of the situation by airlines and travel agencies.

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