Tag Archives: The Law
G20 policing in the dock
Counting the cost of state sanctioned violence The anti-G20 protests in the heart of London’s financial district on 1st April 2009 still resonant with interesting if uncertain implications for anarchists and radicals two years on. What was an expansive, intense and violent policing operation, thousands of protesters were kettled and beaten with impunity as they [...]
Grass is not always greener
The strange case of the climate activists and undercover cop The trial against six people charged with conspiracy to shut down Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in 2009 collapsed on its first day at Nottingham Crown Court as activists exposed that undercover police officer, Mark Kennedy, had been spying on them for seven years, and had actually [...]
Student Occupation: A brief legal guide
This is intended as a useful guide only, as with any occupation there should be at least one person present or available with a working knowledge of the law. Trespass The act of trespass is a civil matter, not a criminal one, so no one should be threatened with arrest for simple trespass. Aggravated trespass [...]
High court bans strike action
Judge’s ruling allows employers to stop workers striking A disturbing new trend is emerging in industrial disputes with the willingness of the courts to directly intervene on the side of the bosses in preventing strike action by unions. The latest example of this is the management of Milford Haven port in South Wales who have [...]
2010 International Stay Out Of Jail Year
As many comrades know 2010 is International Stay Out Of Jail Year. Here at Freedom we are proud to do our part by publishing this short guide to avoiding incarceration. Globally over nine million people are in prison and not one of them likes it. We can’t guarantee anything but following these simple points will [...]
Copping the Bill
The HMIC report on protest policing – a new direction or a triumph of style over substance? There is no denying that the latest report on the policing of protest by the HMIC (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary) is hugely critical of the police. Throughout the 220-page document there are many polite ways of saying [...]
Jailed for keeping schtum
A 33-year old has been sentenced to nine months imprisonment for refusing to decrypt his personal computer files. Judge Hetherington declared that the man, in spite of initial police suspicions, poses no threat to national security, and made it clear that his failure to cooperate with the police and to comply with a section 49 [...]
High court backs blacklisted worker
Construction worker cleared of being a “terrorist threat” in long running protest against blacklisting The High Court rejected a bid from Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to silence an ex-employee and prevent him from picketing a power station, owned by SSE, where he was employed under contract before being made redundant within weeks of starting [...]
It’s Still ‘No Comment’
As new people become involved, it periodically becomes necessary to repeat things that every anarchist, and indeed every person, should know about what to do if arrested. So once again we return to the issue of the right to silence, and in particular what to do when interviewed in custody. We focus specifically on this [...]
Strange Adventures in Copland
Climate camp police liaison talk about their role and trip to Gravesend This week, the Camp for Climate Action Police Liaison Team spoke at a ‘briefing afternoon’, at the Metropolitan Police’s Training Centre in Gravesend. Why did they do this, and what on earth could they possibly say to the police? Simon Stanley was at [...]
