UK Promoted Newswire Archive
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Advocating Domestic Extremism - Cops on Indymedia - An Exposé
23-01-2011 19:53
On April 27th, 2010, a comment appeared on the Indymedia UK newswire entitled Don't use SPEAK as a model. The comment, on an article entitled New animal lab at Leicester; New nationwide campaign to start urged readers to respond to the campaign by "Model{ling} the campaign on a successful AR campaign such as Hillgrove cats or Darnley(sic) Oaks etc". Readers familiar with those campaigns will be aware that the campaigns are alleged to have included violent actions against individuals, including a a letter bomb in the Hillgrove Cats campaign, and the removal of Gladys Hammond from her grave.
Full list of Gateway 303 and 202 posts to IMC UK
23-01-2011 19:30
Full article | 1 addition | 26 comments
Mozaz
23-01-2011 11:07
Farewell to NETCU
23-01-2011 11:07
Corporate Watch published last week an article outlining a history of NETCU / NPOIU and other related units. It is long but it gives a pretty detailed overview of them, including their history and what they have been up to. The body of the text is below. To get the references in it see the original article at
http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=3868 They have done another interesting article on the various companies involved in spying on protestors at http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=3869
Abuse of women by undercover police must stop now! Women's blockade on Monday
22-01-2011 17:26
Women in the UK should not have to worry about being sexually abused by policemen. It is as simple as that.In response, we call for women to come together for a blockade of Scotland Yard, in protest at political policing and in solidarity with all women who have been exploited by men they thought they could trust.
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Demonstration outside Chilcot Enquiry
22-01-2011 14:40
Nottingham Probation Services Attacked
22-01-2011 14:24
In the earlier hours of wednesday morning the Nottingham Probation Services Office on Derby Road was attacked. Four of it's vehicles had their paint stripped, tiers slashed and locks glued shut. All the doors to the building were also glued.
This was just a gesture, a middle finger flicked up at the prison system. To that system we say Fuck your attempts to control our lives, fuck you for imprisoning our comrades, and fuck your surviellence because we will not be stopped from having these moments. These moments where the industrial prison complex, the culture of domination and capitalism can not stop us from responding with anger and disgust at the world that has been created.
This action is done in solidarity with all prisoners. We do not differentiate between those who have been imprisoned for their political beliefs and those who are imprisoned because they were not born into a postion of wealth and power. This action was for those who have spent their lives having their actions criminalized by the elite, and it is for those anarchist prisoners around the world who aim to destroy the elite.
Thessaloniki 4 trial, update day #3
21-01-2011 21:24
Update from day #3 of the Court of Appeals of our four comrades in Thessaloniki, Greece. The court dealt with two witnesses against Fernando, two against Kastro and the chief of the squad that arrested Simon. The trial was suspended at the end of the hearing on Tuesday18 January as the Thessaloniki lawyers' union would be on strike Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The court will reconvene Monday 24 January. Background information at http://www.salonikisolidarity.org.uk/
by some attendants in solidarity
Tuesday 18 January 2011, 9am, Thessaloniki Courthouse.
The Court opened and began hearing the testimony of police officer #10, from an Athens-based riot squad. He was Fernando's arresting officer. He testified how his squad had arrived on Ignatia firing gas and was immediately confronted by a group of demonstrators, who were so close it was a "body-to-body" fight. Police officer 10 stated that he saw Fernando throw a molotov at his team from a distance of only 2 or 3 metres, and then fire a flare at them. Both missed. He said that they then arrested Fernando, who they claim was carrying a rucksack on his back, in which they found a slingshot and metal ball ammunition.
Officer #10 testified that he took Fernando and the bag to the arrest team's police car, and he was transferred to the preliminary investigation team's police station. No charges were ever brought for the slingshot, nor for the flare. Fernando had originally been accused of throwing a number of molotovs, but in the second trial this had been reduced to just one. Fernando had always denied having any bag with him, and denied throwing anything at the police officers.
When the original report by officer #10 into Fernando's arrest was made at the police station later that night, no mention of the bag was made in the list of his possessions. The defence argued that there was no molotov, no flare and no bag. Officer #10 stated that he was tired when he made his original testimony and had simply forgotten to include mentioning the bag (ie, the evidence!) The bag is only mentioned in statements made later that night. The defence asked that the bag be presented to the court, though at the moment it cannot be located.
A further witness (police officer #11) was only added to the case against Fernando nearly 18 months later, in September 2004. Officer #11 was not mentioned in the initial testimony of officer #10 at the time of making this first report. He explained that he had gone to the police station where Fernando was being held that night, but he had not given evidence as he had been injured during the confrontations and had returned to base where he was seen by a doctor who gave him some stitches to the wrist, though no medical note was recorded of the injury or the treatment.
The defence pointed out that other police officers, more seriously injured than he was, had made statements regarding arrests they had been involved with only a day or so after the demonstration, whereas police officer 11 had waited nearly 18 months before giving evidence against Fernando.
There were numerous inconsistencies between the evidence given by officer #10 and officer #11 in this trial, and between their evidence at the first trial in 2008 and the current appeal trial. One or both of them had to be mistaken, as both of them could not be right. Officer #11 was asked again why he had not testified at the time of the arrest, and he replied that his superior officer had thought that officer ##10's statement would be sufficient.
Officer #12 was the commander of the riot squad which arrested Simon. He stuck to the whole story about the blue and the black rucksacks. Again, he only gave evidence after the video and photographic evidence (in Simon's favour) had been widely published. He said that his squad had gathered up abandoned rucksacks of broken and unbroken molotovs from the street and had placed them around Simon - who, by police officer 12's testimony, was soaked head-to-toe in petrol - as this was the safest place for them. The lawyer asked him to confirm that the safest place for bags of leaking petrol bombs was next to a man soaked in petrol surrounded police, who, by their own testimony, were still on the receiving end of molotovs and stones being thrown at them. Some eyebrows were raised.
He was asked about Simon's injuries. He said that he thought Simon could have been bleeding from the head before the arrest was made, or that he hurt the front of his head while falling (on his back!) or that perhaps a stone had hit him at some point. Officer #12 confirmed that his riot squad had taken Simon with them into further confrontations with molotov-throwing demonstrators, that Simon was handcuffed and that Simon had been made to carry the black bag of molotovs for at least 2 and maybe 3 hours. He was asked why it was too dangerous to take the blue rucksack (allegedly full of broken molotov bottles) with them as evidence, but it was safe to take a man soaked in petrol, handcuffed and carrying a bag full of unbroken molotovs. All police officer #12 could say was that the blue bag was too dangerous to transport.
The next police witness, police officer 13, was a now-retired commander of a Thessaloniki riot squad who had arrested Kastro. He stated that he had seen Kastro on the edges of a crowd of around 400 protesters in Aristotle Square, and that Kastro was handed molotovs from the crowd - 5 or maybe 7 molotovs - which he then threw at the police from a distance of around 70 metres. He said that no harm could have done to police or civilians or to property. He testified that Kastro had tried to escape through the ruins of the ancient market area at the top of the square, and had popped up suddenly very close to officer #13, who now - after an hour of observing Kastro's alleged molotov-throwing - decided to move in and arrest him with a number of other officers.
Kastro was accused of carrying a rucksack containing 2 slingshots, metal balls as ammunition for them, a gas mask and personal documents which confirmed his identity. The defence pointed out that at the first trial in 2008 police officer 13 had been certain that there was a real risk of harm to police and civilians from the molotovs allegedly thrown by Kastro, but in this, the second trial, there was no such risk. Kastro had always maintained that he did not carry a rucksack that day.
Officer #13 did not know what happened to the rucksack after Kastro was taken away in a police car, nor where the bag is now. The defence spent a long time trying to establish where officer #13 and his squad were at various times of the day during the confrontations, pointing out the inconsistencies between the initial testimony at the time of the arrest, revised statements made in 2004, testimony at the the first trial in 2008 and the evidence of officer #13 in court now in January 2011. The defence noted that in the initial arrest statements against Kastro that no description of him, no outstanding features had been included. These descriptions only appear in police officer #13's 2004 testimony.
Police officer #14 also gave evidence against Kastro and followed what his boss had said, though he added that he had seen Kastro firing screws or other metallic objects at the police with a slingshot. There were again numerous inconsistencies between his testimony at the first trial and at the current trial, especially about his location at various times. One important point made by the defence was that it seemed that the police were saying that Kastro's actions took place before the rally organised by the trade unions, though the trade union speakers on the stage reported that there were no disturbances in Aristotle Square before they had begun to address the crowd. Timing was therefore extremely important.
In the original arrest report made against Kastro, there was no mention of the personal documents allegedly found in the rucksack: it is these documents which allegedly prove that the bag belonged to Kastro, but they have not been produced in evidence, and neither has the bag itself. It is not clear what these documents were (it was difficult to understand what was going on as there was a lot of shouting and confusion in the court).
Kastro asked why he had not been arrested for an hour, even though he was separated from the crowd in the square and had allegedly thrown 5, 7, 10 or more molotovs towards the police. Kastro stated that riot squads would usually immediately arrest anyone for throwing anything at them, even empty plastic bottles. Why had he not been arrested sooner? And if his intention had been to fight the police, why did he not wear the gas mask, why had he not dressed for street-fighting? Police officer #14 didn't know.
Court ended at 15.05 GMT+2.
The trial was suspended at the end of the hearing on Tuesday18 January as the Thessaloniki lawyers' union would be on strike Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The court will reconvene Monday 24 January.
++ Spread the word
Please link to the Campaign's website on your web sites, forums, blogs, facebook profiles etc, tell friends and family and help to spread the word.
Join and share the facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-For-Simon-Chapman-and-the-Thessaloniki-4/113450595384764
or join and share the facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=150278698345263
Solidarity for the Thessaloniki 4!
http://www.salonikisolidarity.org.uk/
Films on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheThessaloniki4
This Week in Palestine week 3 2011
21-01-2011 16:59
Thessaloniki 4 trial, update day #3
21-01-2011 16:49
Update from day #3 of the Court of Appeals of our four comrades in Thessaloniki, Greece. The court dealt with two witnesses against Fernando, two against Kastro and the chief of the squad that arrested Simon. The trial was suspended at the end of the hearing on Tuesday18 January as the Thessaloniki lawyers' union would be on strike Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The court will reconvene Monday 24 January.Mayday Indymedia Film Screening - 29th Jan - Brighton
21-01-2011 16:07
The Mayday Indymedia Collective presents a screening Human Resources from Metanoia Films at 6.00 PM on Saturday 29th of January 2011 at the Cowley Club 12 London Road, Brighton, BN1 4JA. To be followed by a discussion. Read on for more information about the Mayday Indymedia Collective and other events that weekend.
Preventative Arrest Used Against Anti-Racists in Leeds
20-01-2011 16:36
Reporting on the abuse of civil liberties by West Yorkshire Police.Palestine Today 01 20 2011
20-01-2011 16:12
Report of Occupation of Waitrose in Solidarity with the Abu Rahma family
20-01-2011 14:41
Large photos of Jawaher and Bassem Abu Rahma were displayed and shoppers were told the story of the resistance of the village of Bil In, the expropriation of its land and the murder of those involved in the popular struggle.
Fliers were handed out calling on shoppers to boycott Israeli goods
The Bil In popular committee has called for renewed boycott action after the death of Jawaher Abu Rahma on 31st December 2010.
A day of global day of action has been called on February 10th against companies supplying tear gas to Israel - Jawaher was died after inhaling CS gas.
On Saturday 22nd there will be a demonstration in Churchill Square from 1pm in rage at the murder of Jawaher, and the increasing violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza
Read the boycott call from Bil In at
http://www.bilin-village.org/english/articles/different-look/Happy-New-Year-from-the-Israeli-Occupation-Forces-The-Story-of-the-Abu-Rahme-Family For more detail see
https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/01/471645.html
Shell given permission to complete Gas pipeline in Mayo
20-01-2011 11:37
This morning we heard that An Bord Pleanála (the Irish planning board) has granted Shell oil permission to finish their raw gas pipeline.Full article | 2 additions | 32 comments
Jim Sutton - undercover cop in Reclaim the Streets
19-01-2011 23:13
Reports on Jim Sutton an undercover cop who infiltrated Reclaim the Streets during the 1990's and had kids with an activist.Full article | 2 additions | 5 comments
Gathering to discuss occupying space in sheffield
19-01-2011 19:42
first meeting to discuss ideas to occupy spaces in sheffield and south yorkshire for event space and community project. will look into potential sites and gauge amount of people would be planning on moving in and how many people can offer help. please pass this along to anyone you think might be interested.Full article | 1 addition | 151 comments
Kennedy Mania in the Mainstream Media
19-01-2011 19:01
The media has gone into a feeding frenzy over what was described by Newsnight as the "deepening controversy over police agents". Yet still none of them are putting together the evidence that political policing has been used to trash the 'right to protest' in this country,of which the use of undercover coppers is only a small part, with FIT Teams, kettling and general harrassment of protestors being other major parts of the ongoing police strategy. Perhaps this is because these same journos are part of the media circus that allows the cops to get away with it as we march towards water cannon and a police state.
However, the long term infiltration of environmental and direct action groups in the UK by PC Mark Kennedy for a seven year period, must be causing some discomfort for the cops, as his antics in the UK and ,according to the Guardian another 22 countries, are beginning to be unravelled.
Today's Independent claims that Kennedy, who is missing but believed to be in the USA, has called in publicity Guru Max Clifford as he "prepares to sell his story". The report further notes that Nottingham Police have launched an internal inquiry into the mess, which will run alongside a limited IPCC inquiry which 'Amerdeep Somal, of the IPCC, said will focus on the alleged failure of Nottinghamshire Police to disclose relevant material to prosecutors.'
Full article | 1 addition | 3 comments
Christian peace activist jailed for 30 days over arms fair protest
19-01-2011 16:27
"Chris was jailed today [19 Jan] for 30 days for non-payment of a fine relating to a protest at the DSEI arms far in 2009. Details below. He has been sent to Wandsworth Prison. Heathfield Road ,Wandsworth, London SW18 3HS,020 8588 4000. I don’t have a prison number yet, but will send one out when I do."