Copenhagen Police Continue Acts Of Unprovoked Violence On Protesters
By Climate Justice Action
13 December, 2009
Countercurrents.org
Around 200 demonstrators are currently being forcefully held in the street by Danish police near the American Embassy in Copenhagen.
The group had assembled as part of the "Hit the Production" demo. Without any provocation, the police charged violently at the crowd and began arrests, forcing people to sit on the ground in 2 degree temperatures while cuffed. The scenes seem to be an exact repetition of the human rights violations from yesterday.
Ed Thompson, a climate justice activist from the UK, who is at the scene, says: "I came here to show that the UN talks don't represent me, that big business and rich governments can't solve this crisis, and that it's going to take all of us to avoid climate catastrophe - and the police are responding with pepper spray, batons and indiscriminate arrests." (1)
50 climate activists have been arrested as of 1340, and there are reports of the use of batons and pepper spray on journalists as well as protesters. One journalist from Danish news outlet Ekstra Bladet has reportedly been arrested.
(1) Ed Thompson is available on 0045 5268 6497
COPENHAGEN POLICE ACCUSED OF VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS AT UN CLIMATE SUMMIT
Danish police have indiscriminately arrested hundreds of climate justice activists during a climate change protest made up of 100,000 people that took place today in Copenhagen. Questions have been raised about the fact that the arrests occurred in a different time and place to where some trouble had momentarily flared earlier in the day. Journalists have been restricted from reporting at the site of the arrests since 1800hrs.
It’s estimated that 100 people are still being held on the road in extremely cold weather, cuffed and forced into seated positions in lines (1). They have expressed severe physical discomfort and have no access to water, medical attention or toilet facilities since 1530hrs. Many activists are reported to have urinated themselves while detained on the ground.
An estimated 200 have been removed from the site and taken away in coaches. Several people are reported to have fainted around 1945hrs.
Helga Matthiassen, who was detained for an hour before being released due to an injury she had recently sustained, said, “Of course we’re angry – people all over the world are angry about being lied to by governments who are making a corporate deal at the climate talks, and now when we try to protest against this on the streets we are randomly held by police.
“Not only have we been denied the right to protest, but our basic human rights have also been ignored in this ludicrous, staged police exercise. It seems Danish Police have a new motto: why just criminalise protesters, when you can dehumanise them too?” (2)
Contact: 0045 5066 9028 (International)
0045 4129 4994 (Danish)
[email protected]
NOTES TO EDITORS
(2) See Helga interviewed on TV2 News, 2015 broadcast
http://news.tv2.dk/?channel
Climate Justice Action - media team.
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