Greta Thunberg detained at Copenhagen University over Israel boycott appeal

The Danish police arrested Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg at a protest against the ongoing Israeli war in Gaza in Copenhagen, authorities said on Wednesday.

“This morning, we arrested six protesters who briefly blocked the entrance to one of the University of Copenhagen's buildings in Krystalgade. The six people are charged with domestic disturbance,” the Copenhagen Police said on X, without revealing the names of arrestees.

Thunberg posted a video on Instagram showing her wearing handcuffs and a black-and-white keffiyeh shawl during the arrest.

“Police have been called, violently entered the building with a ram wearing assault rifles. They are evicting everyone as we speak,” Thunberg said on Instagram.

“We are here because dialog, encampment, and demonstrations among other methods after a 3-year campaign did not lead the university to meet the demands including an institutional academic boycott,” she said, adding that students who have been arrested are being taken to the police station this very moment.

Students against the operation said in a press release that they occupied the University of Copenhagen’s Museumsbygning at Frue Plads, which also houses the rector’s office.

“While the situation in Palestine only gets worse, the University of Copenhagen continues cooperation with academic institutions in Israel”, said the press release.

They added that they will not leave the site until the University of Copenhagen terminates cooperation with Israeli universities.

They demanded the university cancel its “research collaboration and exchange agreements” with Israeli academic institutions, publicly criticizing their involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed and nearly 94,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.