Defend right to protest!

http://fifthinternational.org ~ 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.