I was watching the webstream earlier, it seems he fell 15-20m after the rope he was on was cut by police, he has some broken bones but remained concious throughout.

we are a group of activists who have worked with m here in Lausanne, as far as we know he is in hospital in a stable condition, no further information has been received but i did speak with a girl who did the action with him and she said his condition was serious but not critical. as far as the above comment goes i would like to know if anyone can substantiate this rumour, obviously people are concerned here as well as at home and the manner in which the news was given seems highly questionable to me. i will try to ascertain from here what is going on.

Please take care about writing up such things as this 'fact' that m. died. HE IS NOT DEAD - and he is in fact FAR FROM BEING DEAD despite sustaining serious injuries. A full update on his condition should be posted soon by people that are out there with him.

"one acivist fell out of 20 m in the stony river. he was deliverd into hospital by helicopter with a broken foot and a spine injury."

The info about him dying is bullshit. The person who posted it should think for at least a second before posting dangerous unsubstantiated arsehole comments, then go get a life.

Translation of key points from paris.indymedia.org info on cut-down British guy –

the police have admitted to cutting the rope – there are photos and witnesses. 15 people had blocked the bridge, hung a banner, and two climbers hung off a rope off the bridge which was 30 metres high. It was a well planned action, with the climbers being very experienced and it being done in an affinity group. There was a traffic jam, police got arsey, pushing and shouting. The fact that people were hanging off a rope potentially risking their lives was explained to the cops. Cops started pulling on the rope, let cars through and in the end, one of ‘em just cut the rope – M. fell. Emergency services took over an hour to get there. The other climber was still hanging there. 6 people arrested. M’s still in hospital in Lausanne. He didn’t have a head injury, and has got several fractures.


We have confirmed all this with phonecalls to people out there who know him. He's in a stable condition.

I am administering articles and comments. people from indymedias are working very hard to get prompt and accurate information out.

In some cases are in direct contact with people in the front line, as happened with the activists who fell from the bridge.

He asked repeatedly NOT to have his name on lists or on websites.

That's why i'm taking off his name from these articles.

Can I ask people to respect his desire on this respect.

Also not to publish silly rumours. He asked not to be named so he's ALIVE and CONSCIOUS after falling and being taken to hospital. He's stable.

My name is ana but if you have any complaints best is to write to our collective address.

There are also chat lines open but please take into account that these are working chats.

I want to thank all who post in all indymedia sites for your co-opetation, without it indymedia would simply not be possible.

Hi,

it seems the action was carried out by an "English" guy and a German girl residents in Barcelona for 2 years. The Barcelona IMC web site has this article which I translate from the Catalan version of the site; the article is dated at 20.30pm. Another article in the site mentions that they were experienced climbers and used to this kind of action.

“A group of activists had blocked a motorway in a non-violent, civil disobedience protest action. The highway had been blocked at a bridge over a river: some had sat down while a guy and a girl from Barcelona hung off a single rope each one at a side of the bridge. The bridge was about 30m high and the two people were suspended about 20m from the ground. [The highway has 3 lanes each way].
The Traffic Police arrived, they were very nervous and quickly moved in to remove the people sitting down, and started lifting the rope in order to allow the traffic. It seems their only concern was to restore circulation and to do that they cut off the rope. When they did so, the English guy fell to the ground: he has a broken leg and broken vertebrae. Meanwhile, on the other side of the bridge about ten activists managed to get hold of the rope off which the girl was hanging. She has been between 5-10 minutes hanging, the rope being pulled by her fellow activists while she was listening to his friend seriously injured, screaming from the ground. It is because of this that she is also in hospital now, being treated of emotional shock.
Both the English guy and the German girl have been living in Barcelona for two years. They are now in the Chuv hospital in Lausanne. He is still undergoing surgery. The Swiss policeman has admitted he did cut off the rope and it is understood he has been arrested.”

In other IMC postings eye-witnesses mention that the police didn’t allow an ambulance to attend the guy and that he had to wait over 45 minutes for an helicopter. They also seem to mentiont that although the fall was very dangerous he is thought to have “only” fractured vertebrae and therefore he will not be left paralysed for anything like that. He is in hospital, in a stable condition, and there are friends with both of them.

 http://de.indymedia.org/2003/06/53237.shtml
has a few pictures and text in germany.

Mainstream Spanish media mention however that the man is in fact American and not English and that he’s in his very late 30s. Quoting police sources, they mention that the water in the river was about 50cm deep and that “it did soften the impact”. Surprisingly, they also mention that a “fast response from a helicopter crew ensured the activist received prompt medical treatment” –what a lot of crap!

I will check the Barcelona site tomorrow and I will translate here if there’s any updates.

Meanwhile, would it be possible to remove the posting from Connor?

salut i república!

The guy is in hospital, his condition is not critical. This has been confirmed by geneva dispatch.
check for report from geneva dispatch in English:

 http://dispatch.indymedia.it/article.php3?id_article=154

Just Received a phone update this morning from the Irish crew where some Irish people were part of the bridge action affinity group. After the cop cut the rope where M and G were suspended he FUCKED OFF ie drove off in a hurry in the police car leaving the rest of the affinity group and one cop to hold the rope G was suspended on. (i read on some indymedia report that he was arested??) One Irish person doing legal support and another person doing medical support had to try and get M out of the river by themselves and received no help from the cops. They had to administer first aid with little equipment. Cops refused to let an ambulance through and it took an hour or so before the helicopter arrived. People (probably en masse) arent being allowed into the hospital but i think there are people with him.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2954964.stm

The FALSE rumour of his death originally came from swiss radio. They later announced that it was untrue and said that he fell from a motorway bridge and was "schwer verletzt", ie: "seriously injured". They later reported that a cop cut the rope he was using to abseil from the motorway bridge to hang a banner and blockade the motorway. The radio report that he fell 21 metres.

Love and strength to the injured guy. Fuck the police.

Hi,

the latest article from the Barceloan IMC mentions that there were five eyewitnesses and that the whole event was pictured and filmed. It also says that the Swiss police rejected their testimonies and refused to take statements from them.

It seems that these eyewitnesses are now seeking legal advice.

This link has a bilingual article in English/Spanish with a couple of pictures:
 http://barcelona.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=44419&group=webcast

A last minute posting from someone who claims to have spoken to him. Although his condition is stable and his life is not in danger, he has been seriously injured and "and his body is surrounded by tubes and medical equipment"
The posting is in Spanish only:
 http://barcelona.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=44472&group=webcast

Corporate media Europa Press has a wire that says he will be repatriated to Spain tomorrow but this last posting in IMC by a friend of him says that the hospital staff has said that he will only travel when he ready to do so.

If the whole event has been filmed, someone in IMC must get hold of the tape before the police does because to me this looks like atempted murder. Hope the legal people in IMC can help this guy.