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Video of police attack on Brighton peace demonstration

Jo Makepeace | 01.11.2002 13:28

A non-violent occupation of a roundabout on Brighton's seafront was viciously attacked by police using batons and pepper spray indiscrimately.

The 700 strong demonstration saw people of all ages and backgrounds, including children, take to the streets to show their opposition to Bush's and Blair's plans to invade the middle east to ensure their cheap oil supplies.

The reaction of the police was swift, violent and unprovoked. Lines of police raised batons above their heads and attacked protesters sitting on the roundabout. People taking photos were threatended with arrest. Pepper spray was used against people for sitting down or just being around. One man was treated by shocked nurses at a local hospital when a police officer undid the pepper container on his pepper spray and threw it in the man's face leaving him writhing in agony.

Later, as the demonstration moved around Brighton to shows of support from late night shoppers, the police became even more aggressive. Riot police charged groups of demonstrators for no apparent reason at various points. People were kicked off bikes. A reporter for the local newspaper, the Argus, was pepper sprayed.

Predictably, the police denied any wrong doing. Chief Superintendent Doug Rattray had so little knowledge of his own operation that he could not confirm that batons were used at all and denied that they were used as part of a mass police tactic. The photographic evidence proves the opposite.

Jo Makepeace
- e-mail: brightonagainstwar@hotmail.com

Comments

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video

01.11.2002 14:54

this is the video

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link doesn't work

01.11.2002 16:45

The link doesn't seem to be working.

Brighton Person


Discribing the video frament

02.11.2002 20:21

By right clicking and "Safe As" it's possible to download the file. QuickTime had problems with it but IrfanView did the job.  http://www.irfanview.com/

The framents shows (no sound here) a crowd of police pulling and pushing... All happens at night but it's very clear who uses the violence.

Good to know what's happening elsewhere. In Flanders (Belgium) we're also involved in anti-war demonstrations, as part of class-struggle and for the pleasure of Allah.

Hasta la victoria siempre !

Ibrahim Hublou

Ibrahim Hublou
mail e-mail: nur@pandora.be
- Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ILM-publication/