UK Promoted Newswire Archive
Interview with Hicham Yezza & Rizwaan Sabir
27-08-2010 00:26
Hicham Yezza and Rizwaan Sabir were arrested under the Terrorism Act in May 2008 at the University of Nottingham. In the pair's first joint interview since those events, Riseup Radio spoke to them about the persecution they've faced since the arrests, the plight of other Muslims accused of terrorist offences, the government's anti-terror strategies, the growth of Islamophobia in the media and in the form of groups like the EDL, and what their plans are for the future.
Hicham is the editor of Ceasefire magazine, an independent publication aiming "to provide intelligent and thought-provoking discussion and analysis on politics, art and activism."
Rizwaan is working on his PhD at the University of Strathclyde, researching British and Scottish counter terrorism. His recent work includes an article about his experiences of being questioned under Section 7 of the Terrorism Act written for Ceasefire.
Riseup Radio is an independent community radio project based in Nottingham. We will be relaunching with a new show soon so watch out for more updates on our website and Nottingham Indymedia. If you've got ideas for recordings or want to get involved get in touch.
A complete transcript of the interview will be posted as a comment below this article.
Palestine Today 08 26 2010
26-08-2010 16:18
No eviction at the Spray Squat .... yet! The pics
26-08-2010 02:32
The JB Spray squat in Radford were expecting eviction this morning. Two County Court employees and two police turned up at around 10am along with around 20 supporters of the squatters. They were also accompanied by 2 employees of Portable Property Management, the company which is employed to manage the building. After some initial inspection and drawing a map of entrances they gave up. A call to the bailiffs revealed that another eviction attempt is imminent in the next few days.
The JB Spray squat in Radford were expecting eviction this morning. Two County Court employees and two police turned up at around 10am along with around 20 supporters of the squatters. They were also accompanied by 2 employees of Portable Property Management, the company which is employed to manage the building. After some initial inspection and drawing a map of entrances they gave up. A call to the bailiffs revealed that another eviction attempt is imminent in the next few days.
For a full account of the days events, please check out:
No eviction at the Spray this morning
http://notts.indymedia.org.uk/articles/410
When they are evicted .... the building will return to being an empty eyesore with more bits continuing to fall off, and those currently housed there ..... become homeless.
Squatting is not a crime, but the owners right to just let it rot ... should be.
These are some recent posting on the newswire about recent events:
Possession Order granted to legal owner of JBSpray
http://notts.indymedia.org.uk/articles/250
J B Spray Squat, court date, Mon. 2nd Aug.resist!
http://notts.indymedia.org.uk/articles/247
http://notts.indymedia.org.uk/articles/238
Spray Squat prepare for possible eviction ..again
http://notts.indymedia.org.uk/articles/252
*****
These are links to older postings, showing some of the positive posibilites for the building:
Spray Building :: Russell Strett
J B Spray Building Occupied / Evicted / Reoccupied
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/07/344121.html
Spray Building Squat, Radford: A Guided Tour
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/08/348297.html
Spray Squat Party 1 : Acoustic Gig
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/08/348318.html
Spray Building Squat : Nottingham County Court Appearance
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/08/348339.html
Spray Squat Party 2 : Acoustic Gig, with diner
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/08/348358.html
Squatters in the JB Spray Building, prevent water company from cutting them off
http://indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/06/432556.html
Spray Building 'spring into action' open for business
http://nottinghamshire.indymedia.org.uk/2007/04/367164.html
Nottingham Spring into Action :: Bicycle power for electric generation
http://nottinghamshire.indymedia.org.uk/2007/04/367505.html
Squatters Retake Nottingham's JB Spray Factory
http://nottinghamshire.indymedia.org.uk/2009/07/434538.html
____________________________________________
ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email: tash@indymedia.org
Web: http://digitaljournalist.eu
Member of the National Union of Journalists [NUJ]
____________________________________________
"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
___________________________________________
<ends>
German activists take on Dolphinarium
25-08-2010 21:08
"We will not leave Münster until this dolphinarium, in which the dolphins are kept in conditions that do not allow for even their basic needs, is closed," say activists of The Black Fish, an environmental and animal conservation organization. The activists, some of whom recently returned from a high-profile campaign to protect the whales against Japanese whalers in the Antarctic, says that they moved to Münster specifically to coordinate the campaign against the dolphinarium.
Palestine Today 08 25 2010
25-08-2010 16:31
No eviction at the Spray this morning
25-08-2010 13:24
The JB Spray squat in Radford were expecting eviction this morning. Two County Court employees and two police turned up at around 10am along with around 20 supporters of the squatters. They were also accompanied by 2 employees of Portable Property Management, the company which is employed to manage the building. After some initial inspection and drawing a map of entrances they gave up. A call to the bailiffs revealed that another eviction attempt is imminent in the next few days.
Apparently one of the County Court employees was being very unprofessional, making jokes about dole scrounging squatters, but the remarks were made before people with recording devices were on the scene.
However, I did manage to catch a very funny exchange between one of the coppers and a manager(?) from the Kexgill student accommodation next door [recording and transcript below]. The hapless policeman tried to claim that the squatters were "the bane of our lives" and that noise complaints had been received from tenants of the student flats. The Kexgill guy, pointed out that the flats were almost completely empty at the moment, that he hadn't heard about any problems with noise and that the squatters had been "nothing but nice neighbours to us". He actually said his own tenants were more likely to have loud music on! By this time the policeman was looking very red in the face. He complained that he didn't want to do this kind of work but he had to, and he got paid whatever he did. Another person from the flats offered him a job doing painting instead!
Later on I tried to go and record some of the interactions between a guy from Portable Property and the other police officer and the manager flipped completely, pushing me away and making various threats. The police officer, realising that I knew my rights, calmed him down and led him away to her vehicle to carry on the conversation. Once again, 'their side' weren't behaving very well.
After a lot of craning up at windows and sketching a very rough map of the building's exterior the crack eviction team called it a day and drove off. It seemed from what we could pick up from overhearing conversations and phoning the bailiffs that they are going to have to wait until there are enough police available to oversee the eviction. The person we called said they probably wouldn't be back today but it would be very soon.
It was good to see a lot of supporters but we need more people to turn up next time. Make sure you get your number on the list.
---
Transcript of police officer (P) talking with Kexgill people (K and K2).
K: Phoned the police?
P: And the fire brigade.
K: But there's no one in there. It's empty. We've got one tenant in there. I know, I'm just saying. We've just got one tenant in there at the moment.
P: [Inaudible]
K: No, no, no. Not at all, not at all.
P: ...trouble from the locals you see.
K: It's only freedom of speech mate. I'm not trying to cause a problem between any of us. I promise you that.
P: Yeah.
K: I was only saying that because they've always been nothing but nice neighbours to us.
P: They're not. There were complaints to the Council yesterday about noise, all the time and it's... well it's the bane of our lives because we can't go out and do police work. I've been taken off an exercise this morning, trying to get motorists without insurance, purely because I know the building.
K: Aha, right. Well you're only doing your job I understand that.
P: No I'm not doing my job, that's the thing.
K: You're not doing your job?
P: I should be going doing other things.
K: Oh, but it's still part of your job.
P: ...you have to.
K: It's a shame, but heh... Um, OK. [To K2] They're getting evicted apparently.
P: No.
K: No? They're not getting evicted. I don't know. So they're not getting evicted? Oh, OK. [Laughs] Does anyone know?
P: Yeah.
K: OK. The big boys in their offices.
P: No, the heavy mob.
K: Oh right, OK. You see from our point of view it would be great if they could do something with it like convert it into flats or summat but apparently there's an order on it or something so why don't the council just like...
P: Ask them.
K: It's ridiculous man. They're making your life hard, they're messing about with us here, cos I don't think they... They've got a drumkit but they're not a nuisance. The students have their drum 'n' bass on really loud and you know...
P: There are complaints, yeah.
K: Really? Fair enough, I mean, you know more than me. They haven't said to me, but, hey... I don't want to give you a hard time, you're a police officer.
P: I get paid for it whatever I do.
K: Yeah.
K2: There's some painting. [Everyone laughs] It's quite therapeutic.
CCTV in Forest Fields: Lessons from Brum
24-08-2010 12:24
One of the things that most disturbs friends from other countries when they first arrive in Britain is the omnipresence of CCTV. Whilst in Europe people are used to seeing cameras at major stations and airports and on government buildings and banks, they are nothing like as prevalent as the cameras we have. And they are certainly never stationed in residential neighbourhoods (or the toilets of junior schools![1]). The outrage caused by such a development would see them removed immediately, by legal means or sabotage by angry locals. Many visitors are shocked at how widespread the use of this invasive and authoritarian technology is in the UK.
To be fair, we haven't allowed the cameras in without a whimper or two of dissent. In Nottingham, the introduction of CCTV in Forest Fields was vigorously opposed through the proper channels... to complete indifference by the authorities[2]. The cameras have now been spying on the neighbourhood for some time without anything being done about them. There is even one located a few yards down the road from the gate of the Sumac Centre social centre, well placed to keep tabs on who's going to what meetings and gatherings. The attitude of local anti-authoritarians seems to be that "there's nothing we can do about it."
But CCTV doesn't just cause problems for a few anarchists who want to plot in peace. The recent outrage about 'anti-terrorism' cameras in Birmingham might shed light on an altogether more sinister attempt at social control. West Midlands Police, via the Safer Birmingham Partnership, used £3m of anti-terror funding to install 150 Automatic Numberplate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to form "rings of steel" around the Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook neighbourhoods. These were designed to prevent any vehicles entering or leaving the areas without their registration numbers being registered. 72 of the cameras were covert. Why did they pick those particular areas for this intense surveillance? Because they are predominantly Muslim.
Fortunately the residents of Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook were a bit more militant than the residents of Forest Fields and the outrage that they expressed forced local politicians and police into a humiliating climbdown. Bags were soon put over the visible cameras and there were (unverifiable) assurances that the covert cameras would be inactivated too.
The Birmingham case has shed a new light on the state's motivations for and tactics in deploying its CCTV empire of millions of cameras. Whilst "preventing terrorism" has long been cited as a reason for CCTV deployment near the seats of power and on public transport, it has never previously been admitted to as a reason for spying on residential neighbourhoods. Could the cameras in Forest Fields, one of Nottingham's biggest Muslim neighbourhoods, be being used for these purposes too? Some commentators have pointed out that some of the masts are conveniently placed near some of Forest Fields' mosques.
We might not even know the extent to which CCTV has been installed in the area. The revelation that scores of covert cameras can be installed in an area once the justification of anti-terrorism is invoked is extremely worrying and suggests they are not trying to "prevent crime" at all but are trying to entrap. The state has really let the genie out of the bottle with the Birmingham botch because now people know they are being spied on without their consent. The "paranoia" that anti-CCTV campaigners have been accused of in the past when claiming that cameras can be used to spy on communities has turned out to be reality.
The Home Office and police have always struggled to make the case that CCTV helps to prevent crime (even their own studies suggest otherwise[3]). Recent attempts to convince locals to accept surveillance of their homes and streets have focussed on dealing with "anti-social behaviour" instead. What this really means is relying on the state to mediate your relationships with your neighbours for you. Many in Forest Fields bought that line and supported the scheme as a result. It seems that our communities have become so fragmented that some people actually want cops, and the army of fake cops that strut up and down behind them, to sort out their lives for them.
And once enough people have accepted that the cameras are going to solve everything for us, there's no easy way of going back. Now that the masts are up the authorities can use them for anything they want, whether it is checking who is going to the mosque or who's attending which direct action gathering at the Sumac, and we won't know they're doing it.
The newspaper reports of how the Birmingham cameras were stopped focus on community leaders and public meetings, but a report from a friend in Brum reveals a different story. According to him, the public campaign went side by side with a campaign of vandalism against the cameras and threats to "turn them off or we will". The local authorities, scenting a widespread rebellion against them, turned the cameras off to limit the damage. Perhaps the residents of Forest Fields could learn a lesson or two from this rather less polite approach.
[1] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/antivandal-cctv-in-school-toilets-defended-1756067.html | http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/19/school_cctv/
[2] http://www.forestfields.org.uk/ | http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/04/428746.html | http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=6025
[3] http://p10.hostingprod.com/@spyblog.org.uk/blog/2007/10/national_cctv_strategy_worryingly_incomplete.html | http://www.no-cctv.org.uk/caseagainst/docs/Assessing_the_impact_of_CCTV-HO_study292.pdf | http://www.nacro.org.uk/data/resources/nacro-2004120299.pdf
Full article | 1 addition | 1 comment
Shell's Drilling Work Stopped by Shell to Sea Campaigners in Ireland
24-08-2010 00:12
People resisting climate change shut down Royal Bank HQ
23-08-2010 23:23
People resisting climate change closed down the Royal Bank of Scotland's Global HQ at Gogarburn near Edinburgh and took direct action at numerous sites throughout Edinburgh today 23rd August.
Palestine Today 08 23 2010
23-08-2010 16:24
5 Activists Arrested for Taking Over FORTH ENERGY H.Q.
23-08-2010 15:05
This is the unspoken face of climate change. Logging concessions in Alaska, West Papua and the Congo are being offered to provide wood chip and pellets for Europe to burn as 'green energy'. Climate Camp activists targeted Forth Energy because of their plans to build 4 biomass power stations. Along with deforestation, biodiversity loss & accelerated climate change, millions of indigenous peole will be evicted. Local residents in Scotland will pay a high price from health-damaging emissions from burning wood.Monday Morning Climate Camp Action Roundup
23-08-2010 09:41
Summarising some of the material from twitter and IMC timeline.
As of 10pm this morning, there's reports of RBS-related actions taking place across Edinburgh, not just at their Gogarburn HQ.
Tasers in Nottingham and elsewhere
22-08-2010 13:41
Tasers are becoming an increasingly prominent tool in the arsenal of police in Nottinghamshire and elsewhere. This should raise important questions, regardless of whether you accept the anarchist critique of the police as a tool of state control, view them as a necessary evil or actually regard the boys in blue as good for society. However, these questions do not seem to be asked. Despite a number of high profile incidents when tasers have been deployed, we continue to creep towards a situation where police are routinely armed without any public debate on whether this is actually what we want or not.
The most high-profile incident locally was the tasering of a man outside Flares on Upper Parliament Street. The incident, in June last year, was captured on video which for some reason was handed over to radio station Trent FM, but quickly found its way onto YouTube and from there became a major national story.
The incident was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), a notoriously toothless organisation. They concluded their investigation in February of this year, announcing, "The investigation examined force and national policies on the use of tasers by police officers and police guidelines on managing conflict. It found that the actions of the police officers in these circumstances were within relevant policies. The investigation sought the opinion of a private sector expert in the use of tasers and force. His view was that the actions of the officers and the decision to deploy a taser several times, and not to use any alternative such as a baton or incapacitant spray, was compliant with their training and relevant guidelines."
Whether these guidelines were correct was not considered, a point raised by Amnesty International who noted, in response to the IPCC's report, that "current policing guidelines do not specify clearly that these weapons should be used only when there is a genuine threat to life or very serious injury. This, in our view, leaves the risk that the Taser may be used when officers are presented with far less threatening situations." In Amnesty's views, tasers, "which inflict excruciating pain" should only be used by highly trained officers in situations where there is a genuine risk to life. They urged "the Home Office to review the policing guidelines on the use of Tasers so as to ensure that officers only use the weapon when absolutely necessary."
growing list of fatalities, following the deployment of tasers has forced the abandonment of this as a selling point and the weapons are now billed as "less lethal". Experience in Nottingham and elsewhere, demonstrates that in any case tasers are usually not used in situations where a firearm would be deployed, but instead serve to lower the threshold of violence, possibly encouraging police brutality.
This is quite apart of course, from any questions about the competence of the officers using the weapons. On Wednesday August 4th, police were called to Alexander Street in Stapleford following reports of "anti-social behaviour." Reportedly, one man "became aggressive" towards the officers (a turn of phrase used by both Nottinghamshire Police and the BBC). At this point the police used a taser against him, but missed (or to use the police's own wording, the taser "did not connect with the man") and hit Jodie Gallagher who was standing behind him.
This case was referred to the IPCC, but they decided to hand the case back to Notts Police without even bothering to organise a sham investigation. The IPCC said: "In making this decision the IPCC considered a number of factors including that the girl was stood near the intended target , who moved as the officer discharged the Taser." Note that they state this as fact even before an investigation has happened. They were also content "that the police officer concerned took prompt actions to rectify the incident by stopping the discharge as soon as he realised the mistake and ensuring she was not injured. We are also aware that Nottinghamshire Police have apologised to the girl and her family." That makes it alright then? What's 50,000 volts between friends?
On the same day this story was published in the Nottingham Post, that paper was carrying another taser related story on the front cover, reporting that "POLICE dog handlers had to use a Taser gun on a crazed dog which savaged its owner in her flat." The Post states, "Police said the use of the Taser on the dog was 'extremely unusual' but they had no other option to ensure everyone's safety." Unfortunately, the paper doesn't make it clear if this is actually recommended policy or whether the officers involved were improvising, hoping that the weapon wouldn't simply enrage the animal further.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the article is the final line which reveals that "Notts police officers trained to use Tasers now include road police and dog section officers." When the weapon was first introduced to the force it was only trained firearms officers who were issued with them. This is now changing. As the weapons become routine, we can expect to see them deployed in a increasingly diverse situation. In all likelihood this will include them being used against protesters. In August 2005, police in Pittsburgh attacked a counter recruitment demonstration using both Tasers and pepper spray against protesters. Nobody should kid themselves that this couldn't happen here. During last year's G20, in an incident which has received remarkably little coverage, the Met Police threatened peaceful protesters with a taser while evicting a squat in London.
Another worrying taser-related development recently was the death of Raul Moat, who shot himself after police used a "Taser Xrep" in an attempt to subdue him. The Xrep is a new weapon developed by Taser International. Unlike earlier tasers it is a wireless weapon which can be fired from any 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. The deployment of this weapon was a surprise because it is still undergoing testing by the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) did not know Northumbria Police had these weapons. While there are questions about the impartiality of some of the research used in previous Home Office trials, you might hope that the police would at least conduct some testing of weapons before using them against members of the public. Cynics might also note that this was a particularly high profile case and if the police were prepared to use an untested weapon in the full glare of the international media spotlight what are they up to on a day-to-day basis?
Tasers have been introduced with minimal mainstream debate. We are slipping towards a situation where police are routinely armed and nobody has been asked if this is what they actually want. This may be par for the course, but the silence of activists on this point is surprising and unfortunate. We may believe the police today are violent and oppressive, they didn't need a taser to do for Ian Tomlinson, but we shouldn't dismiss this as irrelevant. Tasers lower the threshold of violence and in doing so make it more likely.
Brixton Police Station, remember Sean Rigg
22-08-2010 12:34
About 100 people demonstrated yesterday (21 August) afternoon in front of Brixton Police Station
to remember the death of Sean Rigg, who got arrested on 21 August in 2008 by police,
“restrained” and transported to Brixton police station in the back of a van. He was removed from the van in a collapsed state and died a short while after whilst in the station yard. He was 40 years old.
Speakers included many family members of victims of police brutality, including Sean Riggs
sisters. Protestors enrolled a giant list with the names of victims of police violance in
front of the station entrance.
Despite the obvious suspicious circumstances surrounding Sean’s death, the Independent Police
Complaints Commission's (IPCC) report completed in February 2010 with no results. Sean's family described the report as "heavily biased in favour of the police”. In a statement, the family's solicitor asked: "What happened to Sean in those crucial minutes between him being arrested and arriving in a collapsed state at Brixton police station? Why haven’t they been able to access key CCTV footage from the night?"
Speakers remembered the long history of police violence in London and also mentioned the death of Ian Tomlinson, who died during the G20 protest in 2009 after being beaten by police officers.
After the picket about 40 people tried to enter Brixton Police Station to talk to an offcial representative, but were denied access to the offices. They remained inside for about 15 minutes shouting "No Justice, no peace!" (video: http://london.indymedia.org/videos/5434 )
The protest was followed by a public meeting in the Karibu Eductaion Centre in Brixton in the evening.
more information about the case of Sean Rigg: http://seanriggjusticeandchange.com
This Week in Palestine- Week 33 2010
20-08-2010 17:11
Tadamon
20-08-2010 15:47
Images of solidarity and strength in Palestine
Tadamon means solidarity in Arabic and these images show moments of strength witnessed in the Palestinian struggle for survival.
Palestine Today 08 19 2010
20-08-2010 07:18
Gentle swoop as Climate Camp takes root
19-08-2010 17:23
The to-be-dramatic "Swoop" to occupy the site of Climate Camp in Edinburgh wasn't so dramatic. As the site, in RBS's back garden, had been taken the night before, many people were already onsite and much (all?) risk taken out of the swoop process.
Call out for resistance: Stop UK Coal wrecking the Wrekin
19-08-2010 14:03
Three arrests as activists take site for Edinburgh Camp for Climate Action
19-08-2010 06:31
Three climate activists were arrested by Scottish police as they took the site for the Camp for Climate Action in Edinburgh which set up very close to the Royal Bank of Scotland Headquarters at Gogarburn Gardens off Gogar Station Road just after 9pm yesterday evening.It is understood that the three who were arrested have all been released without charge.