Martin Smedjeback from Västerås participated in a climate demonstration together with the activist group Extinction Rebellion in central Stockholm in August last year.
The legal demonstration was initially peaceful, but then took a different turn when activists glued and chained themselves to the asphalt at the Kungsgatan/Sveavägen intersection.
The police, who believed that the purpose was to block traffic and public order, issued a policing order to the people blocking the intersection. About 40 activists did not follow the call, including Martin Smedjeback, and had to be handcuffed by the police.
During Tuesday’s trial, chamber prosecutor Magnus Möller demanded significantly increased daily fines for Martin Smedjeback. It is for disobedience to an orderly because at that time he was aware of the rules that apply to blockades, and that he has been convicted several times before of disobedience to the authority of order, illegal trespass and breach of the order law. Something that Martin Smedjeback himself thinks is connected to his activism.
Chamber prosecutor Magnus Möller has declined an interview with SVT due to lack of time.
“If you act for the climate, you shouldn’t be sentenced” – in the clip, Martin Smedjeback reacts to the penalties that the prosecutor wants to see.
