Initial Statement on the Policing of the Protests against the G8 in Scotland in July 2005
18hz
Scotland in July 2005
G8 Legal Support Group
During the protests against the G8 over 700 people were detained or
arrested by the police, often overnight, and around 366 people have
been arrested and charged. The courts have imposed draconian bail
conditions, which not only prevented those arrested from continuing
their protests against the G8 summit, but forced those not resident in
Scotland to leave at an impossible speed, making the conditions
impossible to comply with. As a direct result of this tactic, some
people were rearrested for breach of bail. People unable to give an
address in the UK have been remanded in prison, even though in all the
cases we are aware of, none face serious enough charges to result in a
prison sentence even if convicted. Amongst those remanded in custody
was one person aged 16 and a woman with a child.
We have also received worrying reports of people being held for over 4
hours in Reliance security vans against regulations, and not being
given sufficient food or water while in custody. For example one
person reported that they were held in Sterling police station for 10
hours and that they were verbally abused, the lights were switched on
and off and no calls were made to solicitors or friends on his behalf.
He was subsequently released without arrest or charge.
The police made widespread use and abuse of powers under Section 60 of
the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994. This section is supposed
to be used to search for weapons. However it has been used as a
blanket authority to stop and search in a manner designed simply to
intimidate protesters. For example, everyone attending the protest at
Dungavel Detention Centre was subject to a bag search. At the
Hori-zone ecovillage in Stirling, the police at times searched
everyone who came and went. At least two people have been charged with
failing to submit to a search.
The police routinely demanded people’s names and addresses, without a
clear legal right to such information and in a manner that seemed
calculated to deter people from protesting. At times they also
demanded to see identification despite the fact that there is no
requirement to carry or produce identification in the UK. At least one
person was arrested and faces trial for simply not giving their name
and address.
Huge numbers of people were photographed and/or filmed just for
participating in protests or because they were staying at a campsite,
again a form of policing designed to intimidate.
The police also often placed protesters in cordons, the legality of
which is still uncertain, detaining people for many hours. At the
Hori-zone ecovillage in Stirling for long periods of time the police
refused to let anyone leave. Legal Observers from the G8 Legal Support
Group were also detained, preventing us from monitoring some of the
protests. No legal justification was provided for this abuse of power.
The police also banned protests. They cancelled the G8 Alternatives
demo at Gleneagles for reasons of public safety and this led to
coaches of protesters being held on a roundabout eleven miles away
from Auchterarder for an hour. Eventually the protest was allowed to
go ahead. On this and other days many protesters were arrested whilst
travelling to protests and held for alleged conspiracy. At Waverley
train station in Edinburgh people were prevented from holding a
spontaneous protest against the ongoing ‘war on terror’.
A number of protesters were injured by the police hitting out with
batons. Most suffered head injuries. Many of the police on duty
routinely covered up their identification numbers, making it
impossible to identify them.
The public were prevented from attending some sheriff’s courts,
meaning that people had to face the court without support from
friends. Apparently the reason was that there may be protests at
Court, although there had been no actual protests, just groups of
concerned friends. This flies in the face of the long established
legal right to an open hearing in court.
Finally we note that this was the largest policing operation ever seen
in the UK. The state was clearly prepared to devote unlimited
resources to the policing operation, all with the sole aim of
preventing the leaders of the G8 of being aware of the popular
discontent with their policies and the effect of those policies on the
vast majority of the world’s population.
The cumulative effect of these police measures was an unprecedented
erosion of civil and humans rights and a further attack on the right
of people to publicly demonstrate. The police appeared to police the
protests against the G8 on the basis that they were not at all times
bound to comply with the law of the land and sought to prevent
challenge to their actions by seeking to conceal their identity by
covering up ID and failing (even when asked specifically) to give
legitimate reasons and legal powers to justify their actions. For
these reasons we unreservedly condemn the policing of the protests at
the G8 summit in Scotland in July 2005.
NOTES
Updates will continue to appear on the G8 Legal Support Group website:
www.g8legalsupport.info
The G8 Legal Support Group can be contacted by email:
g8legal...@riseup.net
The G8 Legal Support Group urgently needs to hear from witnesses to
arrests. Please email us or complete the witness form on our website.
The G8 Legal Support Group will issue a full report on the Policing of
the Protests against the G8 in Scotland in July 2005 in due course.
A prisoner support group is being set up. Contact: July 2005 Prisoner
Support Group, c/o 17 West Montgomery Place, Edinburgh, EH7 5HA.
Phone: 0131 208 0767 Email: july2005s...@yahoo.co.uk
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Iain x http://18hz.com
Is there no help for the widow's son?