A well-known Newcastle anti-racist activist was due to appear in court on 30 June 2021 on the charge of being an organiser of a public assembly on 27 June 2020, who knowingly failed to comply with section 14 of the Public Order Act. In a significant victory, the charges were dropped the day before the trial. Why? Because of an unrelenting, public and political defence campaign which drew in support from around the country; a solid legal team who restlessly fought our corner; principled journalists who were unafraid to speak truth to power; and because the corruption, lies and racism of Northumbria Police could not be kept hidden in a public trial.
In June 2020 a planning meeting called by FRFI had agreed to hold a community outreach event in the West End of Newcastle, a local community which knows the brute force of British state racism. Northumbria Police unilaterally banned any anti-racist event in the entire city of Newcastle on that day except in a desolate patch of Times Square, deserted under lockdown. This was despite a challenge from a barrister, expert in protest rights. Cops banned the event on the morning it was due to take place, giving no time to get the word out.
Activists went up to the West End to inform attendees the event had been banned and to make alternative arrangements. On arrival were immediately kettled by dozens of police officers, who showed up in riot vans with evidence gathering teams, and put us in an impossible position in which arrest became unavoidable. The police effectively told those present: ‘You cannot stay here, but you cannot leave.’
Police officers deliberately caused confusion, refused to inform people of their rights and gave conflicting instructions. Some attendees were told they were not allowed to leave; others were told they could leave in twos; some were told they did not have to give personal details; others were threatened with arrest if they did not give details. We were told we would be allowed to leave the site and transported to the police-agreed ‘protest site’ at Times Square, but only in the back of police vans! We decided to disperse and regroup online, however Northumbria Police refused to let everyone leave, leading to three arrests.
One person was released without charge, and the other two eventually had their charges dropped – the final one the day before the trial was due to take place, over a year later. A phone seized on the day of the arrest had been used to film the police actions and was to be crucial for evidence, however days before the trial the police mysteriously claimed the phone had not been seized and was not in their possession!
Our solicitor demanded the footage from police evidence gathering teams. Begrudgingly we got access to this a year later, but – without the sound! After more pressure from our legal team, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) finally received the footage with the audio. Incredibly, after reviewing it the CPS said there was no way they could get a conviction and so dropped the charge. Our solicitor asked what was on the footage and why the charge was dropped; was it because of the role of the police on the day being purposefully obstructive, non-compliant and creating a confusing situation? The CPS confirmed this was definitely one reason but also stated there was something captured on the footage that could not be disclosed to our solicitor or the court. What could this evidence be other than police officers identifying particular named people for arrest before they dispersed everyone else? This was a police orchestrated trap. This is what we call political policing. If they had made this footage available from the beginning the charges would have been dropped within days, instead cops dragged this out for over a year.
There is no doubt that the police had tactical meetings where they agreed that they would be arresting prominent anti-racists activists whether or not they had done something deemed to be illegal. They wanted to shut down the emerging, militant anti-racist movement that had the potential to challenge the racism of the police, immigration system and local state forces. They wanted to scare people off the streets. They failed. This in no way has scared us off and only galvanises our resistance. Northumbria Police have complete contempt for democratic rights. Over the last decade we have seen how viciously they have attacked protests and arrested activists on trumped up charges on student, environment, Kill the Bill, Palestine, anti-austerity and anti-racist protests. The Anti-Racism Protest Defence Campaign has shown the importance of defence campaigns – an integral part of any struggle. The arrests of activists are the reflection of the British state’s will to crush our ability to fight back. Defence campaigns are vital in keeping the struggle alive.
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