Police have actually plundered a Quaker conference residence and jailed 6 ladies participating in a celebration of the demonstration team Youth Demand.
More than 20 uniformed cops, some geared up with Tasers, compelled their means right into the Westminster conference residence at 7.15 pm, according to a declaration by the Quakers.
“No one has been arrested in a Quaker meeting house in living memory,” stated Paul Parker, the recording staff for Quakers in Britain.
“This aggressive violation of our place of worship and the forceful removal of young people holding a protest group meeting clearly shows what happens when a society criminalises protest.
“Freedom of speech, assembly, and fair trials are an essential part of free public debate which underpins democracy.”
In a video clip uploaded on Youth Demand’s Facebook page, a lady that asserted to have actually gone to the conference explained it as a “publicly advertised welcome talk” regarding the team. She stated cops took attenders’ phones and laptop computers.
Youth Demand defines itself as “a youth-led nonviolent civil resistance campaign demanding the UK stops arming Israel and cancels all new oil and gas granted since 2021”.
The Quakers’ declaration stated they “strongly condemned the violation of their place of worship” and indicated the more stringent opposing legislations generated by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023, which they asserted were straight in charge of the raid.
The Met cops stated it had actually jailed 6 individuals at the conference on uncertainty of conspiracy theory to create a public annoyance. It stated it jailed 5 other individuals for the very same offense on Friday– 4 in London and one in Exeter.
The cops stated those jailed became part of Youth Demand and asserted those participating in the conference were intending straight activity in the resources following month.
“Youth Demand have stated an intention to ‘shut down’ London over the month of April using tactics including ‘swarming’ and road blocks,” cops stated.
“While we absolutely recognise the importance of the right to protest, we have a responsibility to intervene to prevent activity that crosses the line from protest into serious disruption and other criminality.”
Police stated all those jailed had actually been launched on bond, besides one that was launched and will certainly deal with no more activity.
Quakers, a label for participants of the Religious Society of Friends, comply with a spiritual practice that expanded from Protestant Christianity in the 17th century.
Quakers have a lengthy background of sustaining demonstration activities and nonviolence is among their core ideas.
