The protest against the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill on the 21st March in Bristol has resulted in one of the most vicious campaigns of repression against demonstrators in our long experience. This week, the first people who pleaded guilty were sentenced by Judge James Patrick at Bristol Crown Court. One person got 3
Like the Black Lives Matter protests of last year, the wave of protests against the Policing Crimes and Sentencing Bill have been met by police repression. But, again like last year, they have also been met by dedicated legal support activsts providing basic, vital solidarity in the form of legal guidance and police station support.
On March 25th the Coronavirus Act 2020 received Royal Assent and became law. The contents of this ‘emergency bill’ are wide in scope: they cover increased police powers, changes to health and social care legislation, postponement of elections, changes in burial procedure and changes in statutory sick pay, amongst other measures. The next day Health
Activist legal support primos, the Green and Black Cross, have published a new guide to providing police station support for those unfortunate souls who find themselves under arrest. Police station support is an often overlooked aspect of protest and direct action but is key to building a sustainable movement, as the experience of arrest is,
The Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) turned 10 this week and, instead of presents, they’re asking for cash. Carl Spender is here to tell us why we should all dig deep. For those not in-the-know: Netpol are the country’s premiere cop-watchers. Their job – which they do damned well – is to monitor what the
In May 2019, the Green and Black Cross took a break from their much-needed activities, largely due to work overload. As for today, the GBC is back, with a new structure and plans for the future. Here is the statement informing of this good news. The Future of GBC In May of this year GBC
LDMG is dead, long live ACAB! The demise of the Legal Defence Monitoring Group (LDMG) – the country’s longest standing defendant support organisation – left a conspicuous hole in the activist legal support apparatus that emerged from the anti poll tax campaign, Climate Camp and the 2010 student protests. While GBC and other Netpol affiliated
CN: Mental health and self harm discussed in article There are downsides and upsides to informing the police of a mental health condition. Being in a cell is a shitty experience and if you feel unsafe you may have no choice but to tell someone. On the other hand it isn’t likely that your time
The Dover demonstration in January was the most violent anti-fascist action in Britain for many years. 70 people have been arrested and more are being searched for. See appeals on Kent Police site for details. So far there have been 15 concluded cases. 10 people have received custodial sentences totalling 209 months. 7 People have
This has been republished from Cava Sunday’s tumblr. The website for Green and Black Cross can be found here. GBC run a weekly drop in to discuss legal issues – every Wednesday 12-6 at Freedom Bookshop. After Brexit, fears of a sharp spike in racism and xenophobia are sadly being confirmed. Don’t just share this
James Brown, the Extinction Rebellion protestor and partially sighted paralympian who glued himself to the top of a plane has had his prison sentence reduced from twelve to four months by the Court of Appeal.
A transphobe in Newport got arrested recently for posting hate materials.
Freedom’s long-running US correspondent Louis Further does his monthly roundup of some of the lesser-known stories that have emerged over the last few weeks.
Dalston couriers working for app-based firms Deliveroo, UberEats, and JustEat are protesting tomorrow, 20th January, after being forced to wait for orders in all weather at Bentley Road car park, a current COVID testing centre with no shelter or toilets.
From the forests of Poland to the cells of Germany, this cross-border investigation examines the threat of the institutionalised violence and death faced by refugees both in police custody and on the border to Europe.
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