While eco-related news focused on climate activist Greta Thunberg being detained by German police, footage allegedly from the scene suggests the event was more of a photo opportunity than a run-in with the law.
Greta Thunberg was reportedly detained temporarily by German police in North Rhine-Westphalia on Tuesday after participating in a climate protest in the condemned town of Lützerath, which has been occupied by green agenda protesters attempting to halt the expansion of a nearby coal mine.
It is not the first time the Swedish activist has been confronted by police in the region, with Thunberg being dragged away from a similar protest on Sunday after refusing to comply with authorities’ orders.
Per Der Spiegel, despite initial reports that the Swede was arrested for participating in the protest, it was later clarified that she was only detained pending identification.
Thunberg appeared to confirm this on social media on Wednesday, telling her followers that she and other protesters were quickly released by police.
“Police kettled us and then detained us, but we were released later that evening,” the activist wrote.
Others have raised concerns about the incident after footage of Thunberg with North Rhine-Westphalia police surfaced online, with some claiming that the footage shows a rather contrived version of events, with officers posing in a mock-detention with a laughing Thunberg for waiting photographers.
“Was [Greta Thunberg] arrested, or was it a photo shoot? ” TalkTV’s Julia Hartley-Brewer inquired. “Hard to tell from this clip.”
Others went so far as to call the event a “fake arrest,” despite the fact that no evidence was provided other than the video clips that circulated online.