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Four still arrest after violent arrests of 100 bicycle demonstrators
Pressrelease by the bicycle caavan info office in Rostock
100 participants in a peaceful bicycle demonstration violently arrested in Utrecht / NL: 4 people still arrested
Arrests clearly planned ahead by the police
100 participants of a peaceful bicycle demonstration that was part of the bicycle caravan against the G8 were arrested in Utrecht yesterday in a planned and violent police action for not driving on the icycle path. They were kept in arrest under adverse circumstances – overcrowded cells, insufficient oxygen supply, without food – long into the night, their bicycles confiscated. Four people are still under arrest today, among them at least two member sof the bicycle caravan Gr8chaoskaravaan; one arrestee is being threatened with deportation and one is to remain arrested for two weeks for failing to pay a fine. None of the four remaining arrestees has had contact to a lawyer so far and it is not know where they are being kept.
Another caravan member was released but had his passport confiscated by the “foreigners police”. The caravan info office protested against the criminalisation of protests actions ahead of the G8 summit and calls for solidarity actions “until everyone is out”. Preparations for solidarity actions are currently taking place.
BACKGROUND:
The caravan and several supporters were leaving the town early saturday afternoon when the police closed in on them with batons drawn under the pretext that they had not used the bicycle path. The police assault took place without warning, very quickly and using a special unit. Due to the well prepared nature of the police action and the number of policemen involved, the caravan is sure that the action was clearly planned beforehand. “This action and the violence the police used against the peaceful bicycle protestors is untypical for the netherlands”, Antje, a caravan member explains. “We can’t find any other plausible explanation than this: That the protest against the G8 summit is to be criminalised and terrorized even ahead of the actual event.”
The demonstrators were kept in overcrowded cells with little oxygen supply and no food long into the night. Their bicycles were cinfiscated and removed, the locks broken and the bikes themselves partly broken, although most of them were retrieved from the police depot today. The arrestees were accused of “heavy obstruction of road traffic” and were treated badly while under arrest; several people reported that the police threatened “we were tolerant today but don’t participate in the action tomorrow or you’ll really get to know us!”. They were referring to an antiracist inspection of a deportation camp that the caravan wanted to participate in today. But the activists wouldn’t let the police intimidate them – although mayn were too tired after the night in prison, a small delegation rode to the camp. Meanwhile preparations for solidarity actions are taking place in Utrecht and other towns. Activists had already called for solidarity actions yesterday. “The pretexts for arrests are becoming ever more hollow, the whole matter shows that any protest ahead of the G8 summit is unwanted and to be criminalised ahead. This is a massive interference with basic rights and we are not going to take it. We have called for solidarity actions until all prisoners are free and have their bicycles returned” says Andree Narres from the the info office of the bicycle caravans. The bicycle caravan had inteded to arrive in Nijmwegen later today where the local action days against the upcoming G8 summit are starting today. Now at least a part of the caravan will probably stay in Utrecht until the situation of the arrested caravan members has clarified.
Andree Narres: “The authorities aren’t leaving anything undone to interfere with the caravan timetable. There are also fears that the caravans entry into Germany is to be made difficult by such criminalisation. An absurd scenario: To be denied entry for not having used a bicycle path!” exclaims Andree Narres. Germany wants to temporarily suspend the Schengen treaty to make it difficult or impossible for potential demonstrators to enter the country. Overall there are six caravans trying to draw attention to the protests against the upcoming G8 summit and protest issues such as migration, bio technology, environment, agriculture, social justice and civil rights as well as current struggles in these areas.
Information about the Gr8chaoskaravaan – western europe bicycle caravan against the G8 summit:
http://de.indymedia.org/2007/05/175412.shtml
Information about all bicycle caravans: http://dissentnetzwerk.org/wiki/Fahrradkarawanen_/_bicycle_caravans
Info office for all caravans
Karawanen-info-büro
G8-Protestzentrum Ehm-Welk-Schule
Knut Rassmussenstr. 108
18106 Rostock
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