EMERGENCY LAWS FOR JUBILEE
Andy B | 04.06.2002 22:59
We are under arrest, but we have committed no crime. Our most basic rights have been trampled, but we have nothing to hide. Our personal information will be held in a Metropolitan Police computer for the next seven years, but we have not been charged with any offence.
Who are we? The only people in the UK who dared to speak out against ruling class oppression on the so-called "Golden Jubilee" weekend.
The "Execute the Queen Street Party" was supposed to begin at Tower Hill tube @ 10:30 am. Since no-one really takes the Movement Against the Monarchy very seriously, I didn't expect many people to turn up. When I got there at 11 am, there were about fifty of us, versus seven van loads of TSG (riot cops), plus officers from the Forward Intelligence (FIT) Team.
After about half an hour, a rumour started going around that the organisers had called the whole thing off and just wanted to retire to the pub. Frankly many of us had come on very long journeys and were totally gutted that Ma'm hadn't even bothered to address this to the crowd. A breakaway group of around three dozen activists therefore decided to do an impromptu action - we would try to leave Tower Hill and make the cops follow us. We did not intend to disrupt the Jubilee celebrations. Even if we had wanted to, there were eleven thousand cops on duty, and twenty of us . . . go figure!
Ten minutes of fun and games later, we had been brought to a halt by the TSG. We were told that we would be detained for half an hour, and then released. An hour and a half later, a massive white bus with the word "police" painted on the front turned up, and everyone was arrested. I was taken onto the bus first by officer U2240 and searched. Ten others were also taken on board. One activist started shouting slogans, so the TSG broke into the Beatles's song "Yellow Submarine" to drown him out. We responded by singing "We all live in a fascist regime" to the same tune. It turned out that I had met my arresting officer before on a Palestine demo in Kensington. We drove first to Shoreditch police station, where one juvenile was released, and three others taken into the custody suite. The remaining seven of us then continued on to Islington police station, where we arrived at a quarter to three.
Ten minutes later, I was sitting in a police cell, where I was to remain for the rest of the day. On the Custody Record, it is simply written that I was "ONE OF A GROUP OF 20 OUTSIDE TOWER HILL BELIEVED PRESENT TO CAUSE BREACH OF THE PEACE AGAINST JUBILEE ARRESTED ON INSTRUCTIONS OF CHIEF SUPERINDENDENT WEBB WITH FITS EVIDENCE."
The two words to look out for here are "believe" and "evidence". Being arrested to prevent a breach of the peace does not mean that you have been accused of a crime. It simply means that the police believe a crime may be committed in the future, and have arrested you to prevent this. Imagine a world where anyone can be arbitrarily detained in any situation because a police officer finds it convenient to believe that a crime will be committed. This brings me onto the second part - evidence. What evidence did the Forward Intelligence Team supply to Supt. Webb that led to 50 peaceful protestors being arrested? That some of us are anarchists? And if so, is anarchism now de facto a criminal offence?
It seems that you no longer need to have committed an offence to be treated like a criminal. In future, the suspicions of a senior officer will be enough to clear politically embarrassing protests off the streets for as long as this is required - in this case, about seven hours. Surely this treatment is in violation of English common law (which guarantees freedom of speech and assembly), not to mention European law . . .
During my incarceration, I was refused access to a solicitor, in spite of repeated requests. None of us were given food, even though we had been detained for the best part of the day. One protestor who rang the bell to fetch the custody sergeant was sworn at and told that the bell would be disconnected if he rang it again. No-one in authority has had the courage to talk to us face-to-face to explain why we have been singled out for this treatment. The National Front are routinely allowed to march through sensitive areas - why not us? The cops tell us that we have to apply for permission to hold a protest - but what's the use when they'll never grant it in the first place?
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - for ever."
George Orwell.
The "Execute the Queen Street Party" was supposed to begin at Tower Hill tube @ 10:30 am. Since no-one really takes the Movement Against the Monarchy very seriously, I didn't expect many people to turn up. When I got there at 11 am, there were about fifty of us, versus seven van loads of TSG (riot cops), plus officers from the Forward Intelligence (FIT) Team.
After about half an hour, a rumour started going around that the organisers had called the whole thing off and just wanted to retire to the pub. Frankly many of us had come on very long journeys and were totally gutted that Ma'm hadn't even bothered to address this to the crowd. A breakaway group of around three dozen activists therefore decided to do an impromptu action - we would try to leave Tower Hill and make the cops follow us. We did not intend to disrupt the Jubilee celebrations. Even if we had wanted to, there were eleven thousand cops on duty, and twenty of us . . . go figure!
Ten minutes of fun and games later, we had been brought to a halt by the TSG. We were told that we would be detained for half an hour, and then released. An hour and a half later, a massive white bus with the word "police" painted on the front turned up, and everyone was arrested. I was taken onto the bus first by officer U2240 and searched. Ten others were also taken on board. One activist started shouting slogans, so the TSG broke into the Beatles's song "Yellow Submarine" to drown him out. We responded by singing "We all live in a fascist regime" to the same tune. It turned out that I had met my arresting officer before on a Palestine demo in Kensington. We drove first to Shoreditch police station, where one juvenile was released, and three others taken into the custody suite. The remaining seven of us then continued on to Islington police station, where we arrived at a quarter to three.
Ten minutes later, I was sitting in a police cell, where I was to remain for the rest of the day. On the Custody Record, it is simply written that I was "ONE OF A GROUP OF 20 OUTSIDE TOWER HILL BELIEVED PRESENT TO CAUSE BREACH OF THE PEACE AGAINST JUBILEE ARRESTED ON INSTRUCTIONS OF CHIEF SUPERINDENDENT WEBB WITH FITS EVIDENCE."
The two words to look out for here are "believe" and "evidence". Being arrested to prevent a breach of the peace does not mean that you have been accused of a crime. It simply means that the police believe a crime may be committed in the future, and have arrested you to prevent this. Imagine a world where anyone can be arbitrarily detained in any situation because a police officer finds it convenient to believe that a crime will be committed. This brings me onto the second part - evidence. What evidence did the Forward Intelligence Team supply to Supt. Webb that led to 50 peaceful protestors being arrested? That some of us are anarchists? And if so, is anarchism now de facto a criminal offence?
It seems that you no longer need to have committed an offence to be treated like a criminal. In future, the suspicions of a senior officer will be enough to clear politically embarrassing protests off the streets for as long as this is required - in this case, about seven hours. Surely this treatment is in violation of English common law (which guarantees freedom of speech and assembly), not to mention European law . . .
During my incarceration, I was refused access to a solicitor, in spite of repeated requests. None of us were given food, even though we had been detained for the best part of the day. One protestor who rang the bell to fetch the custody sergeant was sworn at and told that the bell would be disconnected if he rang it again. No-one in authority has had the courage to talk to us face-to-face to explain why we have been singled out for this treatment. The National Front are routinely allowed to march through sensitive areas - why not us? The cops tell us that we have to apply for permission to hold a protest - but what's the use when they'll never grant it in the first place?
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - for ever."
George Orwell.
Andy B
e-mail:
andyblackbird@hotmail.com
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