Stop the attack on our civil liberties! : Melbourne Indymedia

Stop the attack on our civil liberties!
Stop the crackdown on G20 protesters!

In the aftermath of the overwhelmingly peaceful protests against G20 meeting, called to protest the policies of war and corporate globalisation, the Victorian Police Force has launched a crackdown of activists involved in the protest that amounts to a serious violation of civil liberties.

Resistance activist Tim Doughney said: “In the context of the attacks on civil liberties being carried out by federal and state governments in the name of the ‘war on terror’, the witch hunt represents an escalation of the attacks on our basic freedoms. The task force Operation Salver has been set up to monitor and intimidate activists.”

“Resistance was part of organising a peaceful protest and we know that the police are using isolated violence on the day as an excuse for a dramatic attack on civil liberties, targeting activists and seeking to criminalise political dissent. It comes at the same time as Wollongong Student Union president and anti-war activist Jess Moore was 'dobbed' in to the anti-terror hotline.”

Doughney described the level of surveillance used in the operation as “extremely disturbing”. He pointed out, “We have already seen police snatch off the streets and physically assault an individual who had nothing to do with the protest, and was not even in Melbourne on the day.”

Six people have been arrested so far, accused of riot, affray and conduct endangering persons, related to the G20 protest. Those who have been arrested have had a number of rights violated. One of the accused was grabbed by police outside the Supreme Court on Friday. The woman who was arrested wasn't given access to legal advice for some time. Police took "forensic ‘photos’ without her permission and no-one was allowed to visit. No charges were laid for 3 days. There are reports of houses being searched without warrants. Of those accused, Akin Sari has been denied bail until next February.

“The denial of bail, and the harsh bail conditions imposed on others, is well and truly out of proportion to the charges being laid and can only be seen as another attempt to intimidate activists.”

Doughney commented: “It also completely ignores what was obvious to those who participated in the G20 protests: the most significant violence on the day came from the police themselves, who used the actions of a small minority at the protest as an excuse for a brutal baton charge against the overwhelmingly peaceful protest.”

Doughney claimed that if such behaviour by police is left unchecked, further horror stories are likely to emerge. As evidence he pointed out that it has been released this week that the Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions will not lay charges against senior police officer Chris Hurley over the death in custody of a Palm Island man. Mulrunji Doomadgee in 2004.

“Where is the justice? People have been arrested locked up and denied bail because of alleged petty 'property damage', while the police can get away with murder!”

Doughney said Resistance was looking to help initiate and participate in solidarity protests to coincide with arrests and court dates. “We demand of the state government that Operation Salver be abolished, that the charges laid so far be dropped, and that an investigation be launched into police violence at the G20 protests and violation of the rights of those targeted in the aftermath.”