‘Labour in power is still the party of protest – and should uphold protestors’ rights’

Akiko Hart    

5th October, 2024, 

Credit: Loredana Sangiuliano/Shutterstock.com

Both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor used this year’s party conference to quip that theirs is not a party of protest. But with demonstrators being increasingly criminalised for speaking up, and negative narratives of protest becoming more entrenched in the public consciousness, how can Labour reconnect to its history and offer a more compelling and hopeful vision of protest?

Two pieces of legislation, passed under the previous Government, the Policing Act and the Public Order Act, have severely eroded the right to protest. They have imposed restrictions, introduced new offences, increased sentencing thresholds, and criminalised thousands of protestors.

No longer can a protest be too ‘noisy’, or cause ‘more than minor’ disturbance. Protest has always been a qualified right, but the space around it has significantly contracted.

But this legislation did not occur in a vacuum. It occurred within the context of an increasingly negative narrative around protest from those in power. Protesters have been framed as selfish and intent on disrupting everyone’s lives. Protest has been cast as deeply unpopular.

Shifting public views

It has been a very effective sleight of hand. It has turned people’s attention to the tactics used by a very small minority of protestors to justify changing the law on all protests.

It is also, as it turns out, unfounded. A recent report by think-tank Demos revealed that the British public overwhelmingly support the right to protest. Concerns about disruption are real, and strong. However the public’s views shifted once they heard more about the history of protest and protest legislation, and after hearing from people who have taken part in protest more recently.

The supposed unpopularity of protest has been vastly overstated. But it goes without saying that a right does not need to be popular to be upheld in the law. There are important lessons here for the future.

When rights-limiting legislation is justified based on the popularity of said cause, this should be treated with deep scepticism by those who care about democracy and the rule of law.

READ MORE: Sir John Curtice warns Labour victory in 2029 not guaranteed

For those of us who advocate for the right to protest, what are the openings now under Labour?

Labour in power feels the need to be strong on law and order. A full repeal of the Policing Act and the Public Order Act may be a step too far in a first term. But the Prime Minister has been clear about his rejection of populism and knee jerk legislation. There is an opportunity here.

The Prime Minister’s brand is all grown-up politics and probity. Indeed, in the appointment of Lord Hermer KC as Attorney General, one of the few departures from the Shadow Cabinet, there is a deliberate move to emphasise within his Cabinet the rule of law and respect for human rights.

One of the relationships he and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper have been attempting to rebuild is with the police, which was severely tested during Suella Braverman’s tenure as Home Secretary and constitutionally tenuous critiques of how protests should be policed.

A party of protest

There is an opportunity for an independent review of protest legislation and the policing of protest, which centres the voices and experiences of people who have borne the brunt of the expansion of anti-protest laws in recent years.

We are also seeing growing interest in a Northern Ireland style Parades Commission, an independent body which resolves disputes caused by contentious marches.

Promoting mediation and understanding between different stakeholders would be a credible departure from the Conservatives’ playbook on protest, without undermining Labour’s law and order credentials.

READ MORE: ‘Labour needs to listen: how the party can stem the tide of right wing populism’

Notwithstanding the Prime Minister and the Chancellor’s assertions, Labour is the party of protest. It is the party of trade unionism, of Peterloo, of social change. Even a more muted descriptor, progressive, hints at the change project which is at the heart of the party.

There is a serious conversation to be had within Labour as to what place protest can hold within it. How can it mobilise the history of protest, which is intertwined with the great victories of the coalitions which form Labour, to foreground a compelling, unifying and British narrative?

Protest as one of the mechanisms for social change, protest as communities coming together, protest as hope for a better world. These are all visions for the taking.

Akiko Hart is director at Liberty.

 

UK Government unveils new protest laws to ‘crack down on dangerous disorder’

08 Feb 2024

‘Counter-protesters (left) and pro-Palestinian protesters in Trafalgar Square. 

Photo Victoria Jones/PA Wire

Protesters who climb over war memorials or try to hide their identity could face jail under Government plans to change the law.

Police in England and Wales will be given powers to arrest protesters who cover their face in a bid to avoid prosecution, while people who scale national monuments could face a three-month prison sentence and a £1,000 fine, as part of the proposals.

The measures – which will be added to the Criminal Justice Bill currently being considered by Parliament – will also make it illegal to carry flares and other pyrotechnics at protests amid efforts to “crack down on dangerous disorder”, according to the Home Office.

The right to protest is “no longer an excuse for certain public order offences”, the department said as it announced the plans on Thursday.

Right to protest

But campaigners have branded the measures a “threat to everybody’s right to protest”.

The move comes as police chiefs warned some protesters were “using face coverings to conceal their identities, not only to intimidate the law-abiding majority, but also avoid criminal convictions”.

Officers already have the power to ask people to remove face coverings at designated protests – where forces believe crimes are likely to occur.

But the new offence will allow police to arrest protesters who disregard their orders, with those who flout the rules facing a month behind bars and a £1,000 fine.

Under the reforms, possession of flares, fireworks and any other pyrotechnics – which the Home Office said had recently posed “significant risk of injury” and had been fired at police officers – at public processions and assemblies for protest will be made illegal, with perpetrators also facing a £1,000 fine.

Protesters will also no longer be able to cite the right to protest as a reasonable excuse to get away with “disruptive” offences, such as blocking roads, the department added.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said: “Recent protests have seen a small minority dedicated to causing damage and intimidating the law-abiding majority.

“The right to protest is paramount in our county, but taking flares to marches to cause damage and disruption is not protest, it is dangerous.

“That is why we are giving police the powers to prevent any of this criminality on our streets.”

Balance

Essex Police chief constable BJ Harrington, who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work on public order, welcomed the plans, adding that it will make sure officers “have the powers that we need to get balance right between the rights of those who wish to protest, and those impacted by them”.

The use of flares and pyrotechnics at protests is “rare” but “they are still extremely dangerous”, he said, adding: “Safety is our number one concern when policing these events, and the effective banning of these items during protests can only help in our mission to ensure that they take place without anyone coming to any harm.”

He stressed the powers would be used “when appropriate, proportionate, and necessary to achieve policing objectives”, but insisted police were not “anti-protest.”

“There is a difference between protest and criminal activism, and we are committed to responding quickly and effectively to activists who deliberately disrupt people’s lives with reckless and criminal acts,” he said.

Overreach

Akiko Hart, director of human rights group Liberty, said: “These new proposed anti-protest measures are a massive overreach by the Government and a threat to everybody’s right to protest.

“This is an outrageous attempt to clamp down on our fundamental right to stand up for what we believe in.

“Bringing in these powers put people at greater risk of being criminalised for exercising their right to protest – including disabled people, who in some situations have only felt comfortable protesting in public when wearing face coverings.

“It is extremely concerning that the Government is trying to impose even more conditions on not only when people can protest, but how they protest too.

“We all have the right to make our voices heard on issues that matter to us, but this Government has continually made it harder for us to do that.

“The Government must reverse this decision and drop these anti-protest and anti-democratic proposals.”

Liberty is embroiled in a legal battle with the Government over previously introduced “anti-protest powers”, with a High Court trial due to take place later this month, the group said.

The proposals will be introduced as amendments at the Bill’s report stage in the Commons.

Protesters face jail for wearing face masks or carrying flares under new crackdown

New blitz unveiled on people hiding their identity, using fireworks and blocking roads

Jane Dalton

Police will be given new powers to arrest protesters who wear face coverings under new laws cracking down on disorder, ministers have announced.

Demonstrators flouting an order to remove their mask could be jailed for a month and fined up to £1,000.

Anyone joining a protest will also be banned from carrying pyrotechnics, including fireworks, flares and smoke, and those using them could be arrested.


Pro-Palestinian supporters shout slogans and wave Palestinian flags
(AFP via Getty Images)

Causing disruption, such as blocking roads and people locking themselves to objects, will also be made criminalised under the sweeping crackdown, which targets environmental as well as political protesters.

Last November, fireworks were fired into crowds and towards police officers when pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with authorities in London after a demonstration.

Footage appeared to show flares being fired at a line of officers, prompting the Metropolitan Police to issue a dispersal order.

The force also issued an order giving officers the power to require someone to remove any item used to conceal their identity – such as a mask.

Police chiefs have previously warned that some protesters use face coverings to hide their identities to intimidate other people and avoid criminal convictions.

The new laws, in England and Wales, will allow officers “where police believe criminality is likely to occur” to arrest any protester who ignores an order to remove a mask.

Protesters will no longer be able to cite the right to protest as a reasonable excuse to get away with disruptive offences, such as blocking roads
The Home Office

Anyone who breaches an order may face a month behind bars and a £1,000 fine, the Home Office says.

“Protesters will no longer be able to cite the right to protest as a reasonable excuse to get away with disruptive offences, such as blocking roads,” according to officials.

Since 2021, the Conservatives have increasingly criminalised protest in response to direct action by environmental demonstrators.

But senior police and crime commissioners said then that the powers to crack down on protests were not needed and went too far, and the latest announcement is likely to prompt anger by campaigners and organisations for human rights, the climate and other causes.

Under the new measures, the possession of flares, fireworks and any other pyrotechnics at public processions and protests will be banned, with perpetrators facing £1,000 fine.

Climbing on war memorials will also be made a specific public order offence, carrying a three-month sentence and £1,000 fine.

In some recent cases, protesters have scaled national monuments.

Blocking roads will be criminalised
(PA Wire)

Home secretary James Cleverly said: “Recent protests have seen a small minority dedicated to causing damage and intimidating the law-abiding majority.

“The right to protest is paramount in our county, but taking flares to marches to cause damage and disruption is not protest, it is dangerous.

“That is why we are we giving police the powers to prevent any of this criminality on our streets.”

Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for public order, welcomed the proposals, saying: “As with all policing powers, these new powers will be used when appropriate, proportionate and necessary to achieve policing objectives.

“Policing is not anti-protest, but there is a difference between protest and criminal activism, and we are committed to responding quickly and effectively to activists who deliberately disrupt people’s lives with reckless and criminal acts.”

Since 7 October, when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people, there have been more than 1,000 protests and vigils, according to official figures, accounting for 26,000 police officer shifts between October 7 and December 17 alone, and 600 arrests.

Last year actions such as “locking on” were outlawed, and police were given powers to stop and search protesters for items such as padlocks and superglue.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 also made it easier to tackle public nuisance caused by protesters.

Police figures show that during last year’s Just Stop Oil campaign, 657 protesters were arrested under the Public Order Act 2023.

UK

Campaign groups call on Home Office to stop ‘steady erosion’ of protest rights

Damien Gayle
Sun, 28 July 2024 
THE GUARDIAN

Roger Hallam (centre) was one of five Just Stop Oil activists given a lengthy prison sentence for recruiting volunteers to campaign of non-violent protest.Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Environmental groups are among 92 civil society organisations who have warned Yvette Cooper against “the steady erosion of the right to protest” in the UK, and called on her to reverse the previous government’s crackdown on peaceful protest.

“The right to protest is a vital safety valve for our democracy and an engine of social progress,” the letter, delivered on Friday, said. “The achievements of peaceful protest are written on the labour movement’s own birth certificate.”

“[We] urge this government to intervene to reverse the crackdown on peaceful protest set in motion under the last government,” the letter continues.


“The responsibility for it lies firmly with the previous administration – but the current government now faces a clear choice between allowing its dire consequences to play out under its watch, or do something to prevent it.”

Related: ‘Not acceptable in a democracy’: UN expert condemns lengthy Just Stop Oil sentences

Signatories include Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Wildlife and Countryside Link and a host of other environmental campaigning organisations, alongside Amnesty International UK, Liberty and dozens of human rights, free speech and social justice groups.

The letter has been prompted in part by the jailing of five Just Stop Oil activists for a total of 21 years after they appeared on a Zoom call recruiting volunteers for non-violent disruptive protests that blocked the M25 over four days in 2022.

But it also notes that the stiff sentences “are not an isolated incident”. Anti-protest legislation passed in 2022 and 2023, and successful efforts by attorneys general to remove legal defences in protest cases, constituted “a deliberate strategy by previous governments to criminalise and shrink the space for peaceful protest,” the letter said.

The groups call on Cooper to join them in roundtable discussions “to hear directly from a selection of key groups across civil society about these issues”.

“We can’t afford to become a country that routinely sends peaceful protesters to jail for years,” said Areeba Hamid, the co-executive director of Greenpeace UK. “Protest can be annoying and inconvenient, but it’s annoying and inconvenient protest that has led to the end of slavery, votes for women, basic workers’ rights and the bans on nuclear testing and commercial whaling.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We recognise the democratic right that people must be free to peacefully express their views, but they should do so within the bounds of the law. Protest organisers should engage fully with the police. The letter has been received and we will respond in due course.”

Home Secretary urged to reverse peaceful protest crackdown

Rebecca Speare-Cole, PA sustainability reporter
Mon, 29 July 2024 

Groups representing human rights and green issues are urging the Home Secretary to “reverse the crackdown” on peaceful protests.

An open letter – signed by 92 organisations including Amnesty International UK, Greenpeace UK, Liberty and Christian Aid – was sent to Yvette Cooper.

It comes after five Just Stop Oil protesters were handed four and five year-prison sentences for their involvement in a protest that disrupted the M25 in London for more than four days in 2022.

The jail terms, which are thought to be the longest sentences ever given in the country for peaceful protest, have been condemned by many including UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk – who described them as “deeply troubling”.

Writing to Ms Cooper, the groups said the sentences are not an isolated incident but the result of a “deliberate strategy by previous governments to criminalise and shrink the space for peaceful protest in our democracy”.

They said the new Labour government now faces “a clear choice between allowing its dire consequences to play out under its watch, or do something to prevent it”.

The signatories cited the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 as two pillars of the Tory government’s strategy, describing them as “gagging laws”.

They also criticised previous attorney generals for removing legal defences available to peaceful protesters, adding that this has led to “the absurd situation of juries being prevented from hearing crucial evidence from defendants about the reasons for their actions”.

The campaign groups referenced the arrest of 630 peaceful protesters in just one month last year, as well as demonstrators being rounded up at the coronation ceremony for carrying placards and 11 people being arrested for holding signs outside court defending the right of jurors to exercise their conscience.

Police closing the M25, where demonstrators from Just Stop Oil, climbed the gantry in 2022 (Just Stop Oil)

The letter said: “The imprisonment of peaceful protesters is hard to justify at the best of times but it seems utterly absurd when the criminal justice system is creaking at the seams and the Home Office is grappling with an overcrowding crisis in our prisons.”

It added that the right to protest is a “vital safety valve for our democracy and an engine of social progress”.

“Without it, we would have no votes for women, no right to a work-free weekend, no freedom to take a walk in the countryside, and no ban on commercial whaling and fracking,” it said.

The letter called on Ms Cooper to attend a civil society roundtable to discuss the concerns.

Areeba Hamid, Greenpeace UK co-executive director, said: “Protest can be annoying and inconvenient, but it’s annoying and inconvenient protest that has led to the end of slavery, votes for women, basic workers’ rights and the bans on nuclear testing and commercial whaling.

“It’s been the engine of social and environmental progress for over a century, and that’s why we can’t afford to become a country that routinely sends peaceful protesters to jail for years.”

Ms Hamid said the crackdown is also “damaging the UK’s standing on the global stage”.

“Labour now faces a clear choice between letting the slow-moving car crash unfold under their watch or taking action to stop it,” she said.

Sam Grant, Liberty’s director of advocacy, said: “The trend of increasingly severe prison sentences for non-violent protesting is incredibly concerning for our democracy, and is a stark reminder of the dire state of our right to protest in the UK.

“We need a Government that listens to, rather than punishes protesters, and for the dangerous legislation of recent years to be immediately overturned.”

The PA news agency has contacted the Home Office for comment.

Home Secretary urged to reverse peaceful protest crackdown

More than 90 organisations including Amnesty International UK, Greenpeace UK, Liberty and Christian Aid, have signed an open letter to Yvette Cooper.


Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (Jeff Moore/PA)

PA Wire
Rebecca Speare-Cole

1 day ago

Groups representing human rights and green issues are urging the Home Secretary to “reverse the crackdown” on peaceful protests.

An open letter – signed by 92 organisations including Amnesty International UK, Greenpeace UK, Liberty and Christian Aid – was sent to Yvette Cooper

It comes after five Just Stop Oil protesters were handed four and five year-prison sentences for their involvement in a protest that disrupted the M25 in London for more than four days in 2022.

The jail terms, which are thought to be the longest sentences ever given in the country for peaceful protest, have been condemned by many including UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk – who described them as “deeply troubling”.

Writing to Ms Cooper, the groups said the sentences are not an isolated incident but the result of a “deliberate strategy by previous governments to criminalise and shrink the space for peaceful protest in our democracy”.

They said the new Labour government now faces “a clear choice between allowing its dire consequences to play out under its watch, or do something to prevent it”.

The signatories cited the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 as two pillars of the Tory government’s strategy, describing them as “gagging laws”.

They also criticised previous attorney generals for removing legal defences available to peaceful protesters, adding that this has led to “the absurd situation of juries being prevented from hearing crucial evidence from defendants about the reasons for their actions”.

The campaign groups referenced the arrest of 630 peaceful protesters in just one month last year, as well as demonstrators being rounded up at the coronation ceremony for carrying placards and 11 people being arrested for holding signs outside court defending the right of jurors to exercise their conscience.

PHOTO ESSAY

Thousands protest Serbia’s deal with the European Union to excavate lithium


Two woman take a selfie in front of a podium prior to a protest in Sabac, Serbia, Monday, July 29, 2024. Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union.

 (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

BY IVANA BZGANOVIC
AP

 July 29, 2024


SABAC, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia on Monday to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union.

The protests were held simultaneously in the western town of Sabac and the central towns of Kraljevo, Arandjelovac, Ljig and Barajevo. They followed similar gatherings in other Serbian towns in recent weeks.

The deal reached earlier this month on “critical raw materials” could reduce Europe’s dependency on China and push Serbia, which has close ties to Russia and China, closer to the EU. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attended the summit in Belgrade.

The deal, however, has been fiercely criticized by environmentalists and opposition groups in Serbia who argue it would cause irreversible damage to the environment while bringing little benefit to its citizens.

The biggest lithium reserve in Serbia lies in a western valley that is rich in fertile land and water. Multinational Rio Tinto company had started an exploration project in the area several years ago which sparked huge opposition, forcing its suspension.

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Earlier this month, however, Serbia’s constitutional court overturned the government ‘s previous decision to cancel a $2.4 billion mining project launched by the British-Australian mining company in the Jadar valley, paving the way for its revival.

The Serbian government’s decision to cancel the excavation plans came after thousands of protesters in Belgrade and elsewhere in Serbia blocked major roads and bridges in 2021 to oppose Rio Tinto. Those protests were the biggest challenge yet to the increasingly autocratic rule of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

Vucic has said that any excavation would not start before 2028 and that the government would seek firm environmental guarantees before allowing the digging. Some government officials have hinted a referendum on the issue could also be held.

Protesters who gathered on Monday in Serbian towns said they did not trust the government and would not allow the excavations to go ahead.

“They have usurped our rivers, our forests,” said activist Nebojsa Kovandzic from the town of Kraljevo. “Everything they (government) do they do for their own interests and never in the interest of us, citizens.” The crowd in Kraljevo chanted ‘thieves, thieves.’

In Sabac, protesters waved Serbian flags and held a march through the town after the rally.

A man holds an old Yugoslav Communists’ flag during a protest in Sabac, Serbia, Monday, July 29, 2024. Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union. 

A man wearing a mask attends a protest in Sabac, Serbia, Monday, July 29, 2024. Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union.

A girl reacts during a protest in Sabac, Serbia, Monday, July 29, 2024. Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union.

A woman demonstrates during a protest in Sabac, Serbia, Monday, July 29, 2024. Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union.

A man wearing a traditional Serbian hat with Palestinian flag and badge reads: “We don’t give Jadar (area with lithium)!” attends a protest in Sabac, Serbia, Monday, July 29, 2024. Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union. 

A woman with drawn four Cyrillic letters for “S” on the Serbian cross, meaning: ''Only Unity Saves the Serb’’ demonstrates during a protest in Sabac, Serbia, Monday, July 29, 2024. Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union. 

A boy waves a Serbian flag during a protest in Sabac, Serbia, Monday, July 29, 2024. Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union. 

A boy waves a Serbian flag during a protest in Sabac, Serbia, Monday, July 29, 2024. Thousands of people rallied in several towns in Serbia to protest a lithium excavation project the Balkan country’s government recently signed with the European Union. 

(AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

 UK

Amnesty International calls on the new Government to scrap anti-protest laws

12th July 2024Leave a Commenton Amnesty International calls on the new Government to scrap anti-protest laws

“The right to peacefully protest is a fundamental human right for a free and fair functioning society, not an optional extra.”

Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s Campaigns and Communications Director

By Amnesty International UK

Amnesty International is calling on the new UK Government to urgently rethink how protest and freedom of expression could be championed and protected across the country.

The call coincides with Amnesty’s new report, “Under-protected and over-restricted: The state of the right to protest in 21 countries in Europe”, published today (9 July). The 208-page report reveals how governments across the region – including the UK – are using an increasingly wide range of means to quash peaceful demonstrations and silence dissent.

The research lays bare a continent-wide pattern of repressive laws, use of unnecessary or excessive force, arbitrary arrests and prosecutions, unwarranted or discriminatory restrictions as well as the increasing use of invasive surveillance technology, resulting in a systematic roll back of the right to protest.   

Amnesty is calling on the new Home Secretary to scrap the public order elements of the recently passed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act as well as the entirety of the Public Order Act and the Serious Disruption Regulations at the earliest opportunity. In their place the Government should replace them with a framework that safeguards the rights of all sections of the population – this in turn would cement the new Government’s commitment to freedom of expression and the right to protest.

Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s Campaigns and Communications Director, said:

“The new Government must seize this moment to halt the alarming march towards repression in the UK by repealing the anti-protest laws pushed through by the previous Government and ending the harmful rhetoric being used to stigmatise those who peacefully protest.

“The police should be facilitating peaceful demonstrations, not stopping them before they’ve even begun.

“The UK has a long and proud history of protest: from anti-apartheid protests, to marches for climate action and protests calling out the devastating atrocities in Gaza. Many mass demonstrations have exposed previous governments to be on the wrong side of history.

“In a world where we are grappling with increasing inequality, discrimination, racism, armed conflict and climate change, protest is more essential than ever for people to call out and challenge those in power and seek justice. The right to peacefully protest is a fundamental human right for a free and fair society, not an optional extra.”

Policing protest in the UK

The right to protest in the UK has been eroded in recent years – particularly in England and Wales – despite being protected under international law. In 2022, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act handed police in England and Wales broad powers to shut down protests and expanded criminal offences and punishments for peaceful protest activities.

This was followed by the even more draconian Public Order Act 2023 and the particularly controversial Serious Disruption Regulations 2023, regulations that were recently found by the High Court to be unlawful, but which remain in place while the government pursues an appeal.

Thanks to this authoritarian legislation, police can define almost any demonstration as “seriously disruptive” and impose restrictions on it. Peaceful tactics like locking on, tunnelling and even causing “serious annoyance” have been criminalised. New powers have been created to issue orders banning people from even attending protests.  

There has also been a steep rise in the use of facial recognition technology in the policing of protest. This is despite the UK Court of Appeal concluding in 2020 that the legal framework in place at the time for this technology violated human rights.

Hundreds of protesters have been arrested. Some have received long custodial sentences and many prosecutions remain pending. Following his visit to the UK in January this year, the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders warned that environmental activists face a “severe crackdown” due to the repressive legislative framework and introduction of new criminal charges.

New stop and search powers, including suspicionless stop and search, can be used against people at or on the way to protests. Existing evidence highlights that stop-and-search powers are disproportionately used against Black and other minoritised people, itself a feature of an institutionally racist policing and criminal justice system. The expansion of these powers serves as a gateway for further racialised police encounters.

Anti-protest rhetoric and stigmatisation

Climate change and pro-Palestine protesters in the UK have been heavily stigmatised and their actions used in part as justification for further anti-protest legislation.

High-ranking officials labelled disruption created by environmental protests as “a threat to our way of life” and described activists as “using guerilla tactics”.

Meanwhile pro-Palestine protests have been repeatedly denounced as “hate marches” and “mobs” by leading members of the last Government. In doing this an overwhelmingly peaceful movement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza has been demonised, creating division and exacerbating existing fears amongst minoritised communities in the UK.

In March this year, against a backdrop of large-scale demonstrations protesting against the atrocities being committed in Gaza, the then Prime Minister called for more restrictions on people’s rights to protest peacefully and redoubled his support for the ‘Prevent’ Duty. Amnesty’s research has clearly shown that Prevent violates some of our most fundamental rights – including the right to freedom of expression and assembly -disproportionately targeting Muslims, young people and neurodiverse people.

Existing international human rights standards require governments not to introduce any measures that place disproportionate restrictions on people’s freedom of expression and assembly – it is accepted that protest by its very nature can be disruptive. 

As well as calling for the scrapping of recently passed laws, Amnesty hopes this Government will move away from previously used stigmatising discourse and rhetoric, fuelling harmful stereotypes and portraying peaceful protesters in a way that fuels hostility. This includes characterising protesters as criminals, terrorists, threats to public order and security, or a nuisance to be crushed.  Amnesty also recommends that regular and systematised data collection and reporting on restrictions imposed by authorities, including the police, is undertaken.

Part of a Europe-wide march towards repression

In Amnesty’s Europe-wide report, the legal regulations and related policies currently governing the right to peaceful assembly in 21 European countries – including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK – were assessed. Amnesty’s report underlines how many authorities across Europe, instead of addressing concerns, removing obstacles and promoting dialogue to find solutions to remedy injustice, abuses and discrimination, often respond to peaceful protest by cracking down on those organising and participating in them.

The report finds widespread use of excessive and/or unnecessary use of force by the police against peaceful protesters, including use of less-lethal weapons. Reported incidents resulted in serious and sometimes permanent injuries including broken bones or teeth (France, Germany, Greece, Italy), the loss of a hand (France), the loss of a testicle (Spain), and dislocated bones, damage to eyes and severe head trauma (Spain). In some countries, the use of force amounted to torture or other ill-treatment and in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Serbia, and Switzerland, excessive use of force was used by law enforcement against children. 

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• The project forms part of Amnesty International’s global campaign Protect the Protest, which aims to defend the right to protest across the world.
• You can follow Amnesty International UK on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.

HOME OF OLD SOCREDS

KELOWNA ANTI VAX PROTEST AT HOSPITAL

We don't even have words'
Rob Gibson - Sep 2, 2021 

Photo: Rob Gibson
A healthcare worker watches a protest unfold outside KGH

A group of Kelowna General Hospital healthcare workers have reached out to Castanet to let the community know how upsetting they found Wednesday's protest outside the hospital.

"We don't even have words," said nurse Bruce MacKay.

He and many fellow healthcare workers at KGH considered some type of counter-protest, "but when I saw the chaos and directionlessness of the protest, I realized, oh my goodness what's the point."

Instead, Mackay and eight of his colleagues walked out the front doors linked arms and turned their backs on the protesters, who gathered in opposition to B.C.'s vaccine passport program set to launch on Sept. 13.

"We were talking about it at shift change, I just feel like that if we do nothing... Sometimes people say silence is complicit, but I didn't want to engage in a conversation."

"I was standing arms linked with my outstanding work cohorts. Turning our backs was representative of no longer wanting to listen to and work against the cacophony of disinformation."

Several other healthcare workers who spoke with Castanet, who were on-shift and unable to speak on the record, shared similar sentiments. One intensive care unit doctor walked outside and called the protest "B.S."

While watching the protest, a pharmacy technician at KGH called the situation "crazy."

"I mean I want to stop wearing a mask, but when it’s like this I don’t know. We have some COVID patients at the hospital, I just don’t get this," said the employee, who Castanet has granted anonymity to.

"We went back inside in tears," Mackay said.

Gareth Eeson, surgical oncologist, tweeted that he has "never been so disappointed in my community."

Dr. Michael Hopman, a family physician in Kelowna, called Castanet while the protest was taking place. His wife has scheduled cancer surgery and is afraid it may get cancelled because the hospital is overloaded, in part with COVID-19 patients.

"I'm all for choice, but it just seems so crazy right now... people are choosing a hard line. People are screaming out freedom. This isn't a Mel Gibson movie. This isn't Braveheart. This is real life."

"We have a choice yes, but we have a responsibility as people to make a concerted effort to help protect each other and be citizens. As a physician, I don't get it," Dr. Hopman said.

"We're here to help people," Mackay said, pointing to past vaccine successes. "Rheumatic fever, rubella, measles killed people for years, they came up with a vaccine, it was needless to die from that."

Mackay says he respects everyone's right to peaceful protest and he even understands vaccine hesitancy but he points out, "we're here to help people. We're not the frontline, you are."

Dr. Hopman's viewpoint is slightly more pessimistic, "in my professional opinion, there's a way out of this. It's called time, and death and chaos, confusion and a lot of frustration."

Kelowna's mayor and local members of Parliament and the Legislature all issued statements condemning the location of the protest outside the hospital. Similar protests took place across Canada, including in Kamloops.

The protest was organized by a group called "Canadian Frontline Nurses," a group of a handful of out-of-province healthcare workers who have been travelling the continent for several months spreading anti-vaccine messages and conspiracy theories related to the pandemic.

After huge protest at hospital, Kelowna,

 B.C. woman calls for rally in support of

 health workers

By Kathy Michaels Global News
Updated September 3, 2021 

The mayor of Kelowna says a protest in front of Kelowna General Hospital on Wednesday afternoon was misguided.

Health workers who faced jeers and harassment at rallies for “health freedoms” Wednesday deserve better, a Kelowna woman says.

“I’ve heard from a lot of them since yesterday who said the protest was pretty demoralizing,” former city councillor Michele Rule said.

READ MORE: Anti-vaccine mandate protest at Kelowna hospital draws massive crowd

“Just 18 months ago, we were cheering every night with pots and pans and doing drive-bys at the hospital every week, but it faded.

“That’s our fault. We acted like it was over, but they still had the work to do.”

The protest outside Kelowna General Hospital and other Canadian hospitals were organized by Canadian Frontline Nurses, a group founded by two Ontario nurses. It pushes messaging from which most healthcare professionals have distanced themselves.

They urged supporters to “stand up for freedom” and “reject the tyranny of mandatory vaccines.”

All that happened during the nation-wide protests makes now the right time to restart regular acts of appreciation, Rule said, to remind workers that she and the vast majority of British Columbians still appreciate the work they’ve done.

She put out a call for those who are interested to drive by Kelowna General Hospital at around 7 p.m. and show their support. She has no idea how many people will come, but she’s had some positive feedback so far.

Several hundred protest COVID-19 measures outside of Kelowna General HospitalSeveral hundred protest COVID-19 measures outside of Kelowna General Hospital

People plan to drive by, hang signs of support and maybe even dangle a few balloons, just so hospital workers know they’re valued.

“Some people may walk, but they will maintain proper distances and everyone will wear a mask because want to maintain safety rules,” she said.

“Some people can’t go, so they will bang pots and pans. Everyone is welcome to do that — the more the merrier.”

READ MORE: Hockey Manitoba rep shares thoughts on new vaccine mandates in sports

Ultimately, the aim is to wash away some of the negativity that set in Wednesday with the protest.

“That was in an inappropriate place, really inappropriate, and I thought, ‘This is something we have to do,’” she said.

“I don’t know how busy it will be. It will be busy enough. We don’t want to clog roads, or impede traffic or anything like that.”

Kelowna hospital worker speaks out against planned protest – Aug 28, 2021

Global News spoke to several health-care workers at the hospital on Wednesday, who said they respect the right to protest, but demonstrating in front of a hospital was simply the wrong place to gather.

“View from the (operating room) today. The same (operating room) that is running at <60% capacity for the 3rd week in a row due to an overwhelming # of COVID+ unvaxxed hospitalizations. I’ve never been so disappointed in my community,” Gareth Eeson, a surgical oncologist at the hospital, tweeted.

While the negativity took its toll, local politicians were quick to voice their support for health workers and condemnation of protesters.

Hundreds turn out for anti-restriction rally in Kelowna – Feb 13, 2021

“The caring people who work in this hospital have been run off their feet,” Dan Albas, MP for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola, said in a tweet.

“It is well known the COVID ward is beyond capacity. The people who work in health care during this pandemic deserve our gratitude and support. This protest should have been held elsewhere.”

Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran also spoke out.

“I think it’s really disgusting that you have health-care workers who are under tremendous stress, keeping people alive, particularly the unvaccinated who’ve now gotten sick,” said Basran.

“And to go and protest and put further stress on them, I think is so misguided and irresponsible.”

Anti-mask protesters gathered outside of Salmon Arm’s city hall – Nov 28, 2020