A few days before the Mayday protests in Dublin earlier this year, 2 protestors from the UK, Polly and Joe, were arrested in the vicinity of a derelict building under suspicion of trespass. They were initially denied bail and and kept in jail for a full week. When they were granted bail, stringent conditions were attached, requiring them to surrender their passports, remain in the country instead of returning home and sign on in a police station every week. Polly and Joe had to remain in Ireland for seven months - finaly their court case took place on 10th November and all charges against them were thrown out by the Judge, not least beacuse no solid evidence could be presented by the prosecution [see reports 1, 2].

Thirty people were arrested during Mayday, many of whom still have to sign on at police stations and many of whom are still being dragged through the courts. Supporters say they were made victims of media sensationalism and made scapegoats by the State in an attempt to justify draconian and military tactics deployed during Mayday in Dublin.

Related News: One of the four people who were surrounded by police and arrested at Kings Cross station [pics 1, 2] on Sunday Oct 17th on their way to the European Social Forum closing demonstration, walked free from court on Monday 17th Nov. The defendent returned from Greece to attend court, only to find the prosecution dropped the case, saying they would be providing no evidence to support the charges [see report].