Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been arrested by police during a climate march against fossil subsidies near the highway A12 in the Hague, Netherlands.
According to reports from BBC, protests resulted in tensions between police and demonstrators, as dozens of police officers, some on horseback, blocked protesters from blocking a main road. Thunberg and other demonstrators were placed on a minibus and driven away from the scene.
Per report from Reuters, Thunberg was first detained with others by local police for attempting to block a major highway into The Hague. She was released and subsequently rejoined another small group of protesters who were blocking a different road leading to the railway station. There, she was detained a second time.
Demonstrators aimed to block the Hague's A12 highway for what Extinction Rebellion, the group behind the April 6 demonstrations, say was the 37th time. The A12 has been the site of regular blockades since 2022.
Protesters carried “XR” flags and placards saying "Stop fuel subsidies now!" and "The planet is dying!" according to reports from France 24 via AFP.
"It's important to demonstrate today because we are living in a state of planetary emergency," Thunberg said to AFP. "We must do everything to avoid that crisis and to save human lives."
Previous protests in the Hague, according to Reuters, have not resulted in further consequences beyond being removed from protest and held in police custody.
The Hague's local police told the BBC: "While we can't comment on individual cases, we can confirm that all of the people who were picked up by police and put on to minibuses were officially arrested, because they were blocking the highway and that is against the law."
Thunberg has been a climate activist since the age of 15, and most recently was arrested by police during a protest at a German coal mine in January.
