Chris NINEHAM, "The Right to PROTEST in the UK"

http://www.stopwar.org.uk/


Stop police brutality: protesting is not a crime

The Guardian has published a series of videos which show the police at the G20 demonstration on 1 April out of control, violent without cause and illegally using the Public Order Act to remove the media from the scene of their crimes, among which were the events which led to the death of Ian Tomlinson.

Stop the War predicted protest death

Stop the War predicted to senior police officers, after our Gaza demonstrations in January 2009 were attacked by the police, that it was only a matter of time before the aggressive and inflammatory policing tactics on demonstrations brought tragic consequences.

Video of police attack on Ian Tomlinson

The death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests confirms what we have been saying for some time; that the police's current attitude towards protest is confrontational, provocative and dangerous. Ian was not a G20 protestor, but was just making his way home after work.

In June 2008 the Metropolitan police banned and attempted to criminalise a protest at the visit of George Bush to London. They have since tried to bring serious charges against up to 20 participants. In January this year they brutally attacked demonstrators protesting against the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Since then the police have raided the homes of some of those that protested.

The tactics of forcible corralling - so called 'kettling', police assaults on overwhelmingly peaceful protestors and home raids on participants, add up to to a major attack on the right to protest.

A review of the confrontational and often brutal policing methods on lawful public demonstrations is now a matter of urgency to ensure that we have no more tragedies like the death of Ian Tomlinson.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• NINE
• NINEHAM
• STOP
• POLICE
• BRUTALITY
• PROTEST
• G20
• METROPOLITAN
• UK
• ENGLAND
• JEREMY
• CORBYN
• MP
• CITY
• GAZA
• KETTLING
• IAN
• TOMLINSON
• JEAN
• CHARLES
• DE
• MENEZES

[SOUTHSIDER1985]

wot annoys me is when people like this protest & when the bnp protest & other white people, the police go on an arresting & criminalising spree, but when muslim extremists preach hate, the police defend them for fear of offending...its a fuking disgrace the way left wing attitudes (labour) have destroyed british culture and its moral & free values inside out...

[ThisBoyTV]

The "dictators" in England, United States and Canada are striking back at the people. They want us to be good little people or they will beat us to death mentally, physically or otherwise.

[fourmanfilms]

Totaly right Chris. The govt reelased a report criticising police three weeks before the 1st April and the Kettling was done without envoking section 14 of the public order act which makes it illegal detention of every protester at the Bank protests. THey falsely detain protesters to try and ensure that they will be so intruded upon that they will not come to future protests.

[ectomorfoo]

Well said, Chris. It's important to point out how our right to protest is gradually being eroded - make that quickly and drastically being impinged upon - by the police. Without that right, women would not have the vote, Barack Obama would not be President of the United States and Nelson Mandela would still be in prison.

[sal64london]

thanks silvana for this video