Three students were detained during a lecture on climate action at the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Lisbon this Wednesday. Two of them were giving a lecture, and the other was watching it with 80 other students.
A solidarity action was organized at the Campo Grande PSP police station in support of the detained young women.
According to a statement from the Lisbon Climate Strike, students were dragged towards PSP vans parked outside the college while onlookers chanted: “What a shame it must be… to detain students in a burning world!”
“How is it possible that students who are simply trying to fight for their future can be detained? This is a chilling precedent when it comes to the suppression of freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate,” said Andre Mathias, a spokesman for the end-fossil group FPUL.
The students, however, were released and will be heard by the Department of Justice this Thursday at the Justice Campus.
Since Monday, students in several schools have been protesting to demand 100% renewable and affordable electricity by 2025 and an end to the use of fossil fuels by 2030.