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Vestas situation update - two arrests; mass walk-in gets food to occupiers

Anyetka | 22.07.2009 14:41 | Climate Chaos | Energy Crisis | Workers' Movements

A mass walk-in by the protestors outside the Vestas plant got food to the 20 workers occupying the upper storey. Two climate activists have been arrested on dubious grounds related to the effort to get past the police blockade set up to prevent protestors taking food to the occupiers.



At 5.10am this morning, a climate activist at the protest outside the Vestas plant attempted to take a bag of food to the occupying workers by means of a rope which the workers had lowered from the balcony. The activist was grabbed by 5 police officers and arrested. On his release he obtained the police report of his arrest, which stated that the reason for his arrest was that, as his bringing food to the occupiers had the stated intention of prolonging the protest, it was facilitating a breach of the peace – clearly ludicrous as the police have themselves admitted that the protest is not breaching the peace.

At 1248, a large number of protestors walked through the line of police holding food in their hands which they threw up to the balcony. The police pushed some of the protestors and attempted to obstruct the line but did not offer substantial resistance. One protestor was harassed by a security guard, and asked a police officer, whose number was 24266, if he intended to do anything about it; the officer said he didn’t. Another protestor saw a police officer grabbing the arm of an activist as he attempted to throw food to the balcony – the activist told the police officer that this constituted harassment, the police officer took no notice.

A second climate activist was arrested and taken through the front doors of the factory. Later, a sergeant whose number was 3027 came out and said that no-one had been arrested for carrying food, but that one activist had been arrested for assault. Other protestors present have commented that as the activist in question, who has not given permission for his name to be released, is a christian pacifist, this seems unlikely.

Security have started putting up a fence around the site, with protestors outside attempting to get a second food-carrying walk-in past the police before its completion. There are currently around 50 protestors outside the factory, over 30 of them Vestas workers, and sources say they expect numbers to increase drastically around 6pm when the protest starts.

Anyetka
- e-mail: applepeelings@googlemail.com

Comments

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'Armed with supplies of food'

22.07.2009 15:38

The Times are laying into the cops on this, quite rightly. It shows how mad with power they have become when they arrest someone for being 'armed' with a sausage roll.


A senior criminal lawyer has accused police of acting unlawfully by blocking food deliveries.
Robert Brown, a member of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, said: “Since when has it been the function of police officers to starve out protesters? And since when has it been a crime to carry sandwiches to protesters? It never has been. It is scandalous that the police refused to allow the food through. Giving the protesters food would help keep them calm and be more likely to prevent a breach of the peace. There is no law in this country that says that protest is unlawful. There does not appear to be any evidence that a breach of the peace is taking place at the factory.”...
His custody sheet, seen by The Times, accused him of being “armed with supplies of food”.

Danny
- Homepage: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6723035.ece


why are the police even there?

22.07.2009 20:45

it seems to me that if there were no police there, there would be no problem there (apart from the factory closing of course)

f00l