A group of peaceful demonstrators, consisting of a variety of non-governmental organisations, children, elderly and disabled people were attacked by German riot police yesterday, Sunday 1st of June at approx 16.00, as they returned from an anti-G8 demonstration in Geneva.
One photographer accompanying the demonstrators was seriously injured and a number of others received minor injuries from concussion grenades fired at close range.
The demonstrators were marching on a main road out of Geneva, returning from a large peaceful demonstration against the G8 summit, when German police, part of a 1,000-strong contingent 'loaned' to Switzerland for the duration of the G8 summit, arrived on the scene screaming aggressively into their megaphones and blocking off all the streets, trapping the returning demonstrators and passers-by in one place.
The police, seemingly out of control, armed and in full riot gear, began insulting, provoking, shouting and shooting teargas and concussion grenades at people for no apparent reason.
As the situation escalated and a group of ten Black Bloc and Turkish Communist party members began throwing stones at the police from further down the street, three Swiss representatives from an anti-G8 organisation tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the police.
Officers proceeded to charge in the direction of the stone-throwers, swarming in from the side streets and forcing the returning demonstrators, passers-by and others including the IMC UK reporter to run for cover. As they tried to get out of the firing-line police fired a volley of 20-30 concussion grenades in their direction.
Guy Smallman, a photographer from Brixton and volunteer with Indymedia UK, was hit in the back of the leg by a grenade fired at close range, which tore off the back of his left leg beneath the knee.
German police continued to violently attack peaceful demonstrators who were trying to calm them down saying "stop we have people seriously injured here" and asking to negotiate with the officer in command.
It took a good hour for an ambulance to arrive, during which police kept shouting abusive remarks and insults at the injured IMC reporter, who was being tended to by demonstrators.
Corporate press, including reporters for Reuters and Agence France Presse who were are the scene were unable to explain why police had attacked the demonstrators.
Medics at Geneva's main hospital confirmed that a large number of people had been seriously injured by concussion grenades over the past days.
UPDATE:
Current condition of injured reporter:
After a two-hour operation in Geneva on Sunday, in which a medical team tried to reconstruct the calf muscle on his left leg, Guy Smallman is now in a stable condition but is expected to require a series of operations in order to graft nerves, muscle and skin back onto his leg.
FURTHER INFORMATION: Guardian article, 2 June:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,968618,00.html (falsely gives Guy's name as 'Dan')
One photographer accompanying the demonstrators was seriously injured and a number of others received minor injuries from concussion grenades fired at close range.
The demonstrators were marching on a main road out of Geneva, returning from a large peaceful demonstration against the G8 summit, when German police, part of a 1,000-strong contingent 'loaned' to Switzerland for the duration of the G8 summit, arrived on the scene screaming aggressively into their megaphones and blocking off all the streets, trapping the returning demonstrators and passers-by in one place.
The police, seemingly out of control, armed and in full riot gear, began insulting, provoking, shouting and shooting teargas and concussion grenades at people for no apparent reason.
As the situation escalated and a group of ten Black Bloc and Turkish Communist party members began throwing stones at the police from further down the street, three Swiss representatives from an anti-G8 organisation tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the police.
Officers proceeded to charge in the direction of the stone-throwers, swarming in from the side streets and forcing the returning demonstrators, passers-by and others including the IMC UK reporter to run for cover. As they tried to get out of the firing-line police fired a volley of 20-30 concussion grenades in their direction.
Guy Smallman, a photographer from Brixton and volunteer with Indymedia UK, was hit in the back of the leg by a grenade fired at close range, which tore off the back of his left leg beneath the knee.
German police continued to violently attack peaceful demonstrators who were trying to calm them down saying "stop we have people seriously injured here" and asking to negotiate with the officer in command.
It took a good hour for an ambulance to arrive, during which police kept shouting abusive remarks and insults at the injured IMC reporter, who was being tended to by demonstrators.
Corporate press, including reporters for Reuters and Agence France Presse who were are the scene were unable to explain why police had attacked the demonstrators.
Medics at Geneva's main hospital confirmed that a large number of people had been seriously injured by concussion grenades over the past days.
UPDATE:
Current condition of injured reporter:
After a two-hour operation in Geneva on Sunday, in which a medical team tried to reconstruct the calf muscle on his left leg, Guy Smallman is now in a stable condition but is expected to require a series of operations in order to graft nerves, muscle and skin back onto his leg.
FURTHER INFORMATION: Guardian article, 2 June:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,968618,00.html (falsely gives Guy's name as 'Dan')
Comments
Hide the following 15 comments
Call for translation en->ge
02.06.2003 12:37
Coordination of Translation with the german Translation-Tool at
If you are going to do this translation write something like "I'll do it" in the comment and if you finished the translation write "Done" as comment.
Thanx!
LinksRhein
e-mail:
www-de@lists.indymedia.org
Homepage:
http://www.free.de/Zope/linksrhein/imc
Speedy recovery
02.06.2003 14:46
Tony70
Speedy recovery for Guy
02.06.2003 14:50
tony
get well soon, mate
02.06.2003 15:03
you twat...kenny
get well soon , Guy...
my thoughts are with all those people out there
fed up with this ridiculous planet
and prepared to do something about it...
i feel proud of you all...
and get well soon , please kenny mullen...
you are obviously suffering from
some sort of mental illness,
love captain wardrobe
captain wardrobe
GUY SMALLMAN
02.06.2003 18:54
Get well soon love,
me and Clay send our love to you
Denise
Denise and Clay
e-mail:
denise@redbricks.org.uk
kenny is dumb
02.06.2003 19:17
jonas
Team coverage
03.06.2003 02:32
But seriously: enjoy what morphine you get, the cut back surprisingly quickly.
FWIW: I was stumping up and down the stairs in QC 2 weeks after getting casts off my feet ... you've got the bit in your teeth now, chum
But seriously: I saw a couple of crews take some thumps at A20, and I'm sure there's been worse. Bla-bla-blah we aren't supposed to become the story ... I side-stepped a plastic bullet at shoulder height clearing streets for med-evac at 2AM ... we should seriously think about a "no solo" principle, if only to get coverage of whatever the fuck goes down.
Hang in there budy ... nurses are very very fine people.
!Venceremos
hfx_ben
Homepage:
http://chebucto.ns.ca/Current/P7/blog/blogger.html
Time to fire
03.06.2003 08:16
Peter
It was not the German police - it was Swiss
03.06.2003 11:54
" I spoke to Guy Smallman over the phone in hospital today and it turns out it was indeed the Zurich police who did the shooting. Their shields said
'Polizei' so he assumed they were German, as there was a report that German riotpolice had been called in by the Swiss."
Lutz Fischmann
General Manager FREELENS - Association of photojournalists - Germany
Lutz
A Real War Hero
03.06.2003 16:38
How much more so should we regard someone who goes into similar dangerous projects armed only with a rope and a banner.
I am writing three months after seeing my wife's life slip away, after she suffered a single fracture in far more mundane circumstances and her heart stopped and landed her in a coma during surgery. Jokes about morphine should be tempered with the realities of what it, combined with anesthetics, can do to one's breathing ability. I hope this man has far better luck and he comes through his multiple injuries without joining the unjustly regarded ranks of the disabled.
My best wishes to all direct actors.
Avery
Background pics and reports
04.06.2003 13:24
Pics and report from guy about what the police were doing when they attacked him:
Pics of guys horrible injuries and quick report
imcista
avery
04.06.2003 18:14
I think you'll find the comments on morphine and the nurse are just a friendly-macho way of saying "cheer up big fella. Things 'll turn out all right". :) No ones taking the reality lightly. Just sprayin some sunshine.
mr invisible
Police didn't know Martin was there!
05.06.2003 04:35
Good luck and speedy recovery,
Russell
From Embassy of Switzerland, Canberra, Australia:
Thank you for expressing your concerns about the case of Mr Martin Shaw, a British national who was injured during aprotest organised in Switzerland against the G8 Summit in Evian.
The Swiss authorities are concerned about the tragic incident. In accordance with the Swiss Penal Code, an investigation has been launched ex officio by the Examining Magistrate of the district in question in order to
establish the responsibilities of all the persons involved.
According to the preliminary findings, it has been ascertained that from his position, the police officer could not possibly have realised that people were suspended from the rope at the moment it was cut. Mr Shaw, the
demonstrator, fell some twenty metres into the riverbed. He was immediately rescued, treated on the spot and then transported to the University Hospital of Canton Vaud. According to the medical services he is seriously
injured, but his life is not in danger.
The demonstration in which Mr Shaw was participating was not authorised. The Cantonal Police was obliged to intervene to disperse the crowd, inasmuch as it was disrupting the traffic on the motorway. The investigation now in progress will last for several weeks and will also consider the responsibility of the demonstrators who took considerable risks and also potentially endangered the lives of others by blocking the motorway traffic.
The findings will be published on the website of the Cantonal Police of Vaud
(www.dse.vd.ch).
Russell
picture of Guy's leg
05.06.2003 14:57
Taz
get well soon
06.06.2003 21:37
come and see us in bromley when ure recovered
Anticapitalist greetings from Amanda, Sharon, Heather and Bea (Bromley CND and SWP)
Bea
e-mail:
bealeal13@yahoo.com