Peers rejected letting police exercise stop and search without suspicion and sanction people without conviction
Proposed legislation aimed at curbing tactics used by protest groups has suffered eight defeats in the House of Lords.
Peers rejected key measures of the controversial public order bill, including ditching a measure to let police exercise stop and search without suspicion to tackle disruptive demonstrations.
Continue reading...Body of missing 22-year-old campaigner who also took part in Just Stop oil protests found in London park
A young activist who campaigned with THE climate groups Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil has been found dead after going missing almost a week ago.
Xavier Gonzalez-Trimmer, 22, was found in Richmond Park on Monday after searches by friends and relatives in the area.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
Continue reading...Ding Jiaxi tells his lawyer he is also worried about his own health after being held for more than three years
The detained human rights activist Ding Jiaxi has expressed concern for the young protesters who have disappeared since participating in the “blank paper” protests against zero-Covid that stunned China last year.
At least 16 of them are still in police detention, according to names gathered by activists, while Ding himself has been detained for more than three years.
Continue reading...Footage seems to show 10 officers training to neutralise one man using fabric banners
How many police officers does it take to neutralise a single unarmed protester? According to a video purported to be from China, it takes at least 10 highly disciplined members of law enforcement, as well as some bespoke blue banners.
In footage that emerged on Thursday, black-clad officers are shown practising a drill to surround a single person holding up a white piece of paper – an item that became the symbol of the anti-lockdown protests that rocked several major Chinese cities at the end of last year, and the demonstrations against the security laws imposed on Hong Kong in 2020.
Continue reading...Online videos from Tehran and other centres appear to show demonstrations including anti-government chants as execution of protesters commemorated
Protesters in Iran have marched through the streets of multiple cities in the most widespread demonstrations in weeks, online videos purported to show on Friday.
The demonstrations overnight on Thursday marked 40 days since Iran executed two men on charges related to protests that began last year and went on to grip the Islamic Republic for month.
Continue reading...Crowds of retirees gather in cities of Wuhan and Dalian to protest against cuts as local government coffers feel strain of years of Covid policies
Crowds of hundreds of older people took to the streets in the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Dalian on Wednesday in escalating protests against changes to the public health insurance system.
The protests were sparked by cuts to monthly allowances paid to retirees under China’s vast public health insurance system. The changes, gradually introduced since 2021, come as local government finances are strained following years of strict and costly zero-Covid policies.
Continue reading...Aida H Dee’s Tate Britain events attracted rival protests from a far-right group and counter-protests led by Stand Up to Racism
A drag queen whose storytelling sessions for children prompted rival demonstrations over the weekend has defended the event as a way of helping youngsters discover their true selves.
Sab Samuel, whose drag name is Aida H Dee, hosted three Drag Queen Story Hour UK readings in Tate Britain in London on Saturday, while about 30 protesters from the far-right group Patriotic Alternative gathered outside chanting “leave our kids alone”.
Continue reading...Rally is latest showing of public discontent since demonstrations against Covid curbs
Thousands of older people have staged a rally in the rain in central China to protest against significant cuts to their medical benefits, in the latest outburst of public discontent since nationwide protests against Covid curbs gripped the country late last year.
Video clips on social media show a large crowd of elderly protesters in raincoats and holding umbrellas gathering outside the Wuhan city government by the Yangtze River on Wednesday, while police officers form a line to stop them from approaching the gates. The location of the rally has been verified.
Continue reading...Rights groups say the move is a threat to freedom of expression in a country currently facing deadly anti-government protests
Peru has called on citizens to report social media users suspected of supporting or inciting “acts of terrorism”, as the country reels from two months of violent anti-government protests which have claimed at least 59 lives.
In a move widely condemned by human rights organisations, the country’s interior ministry said on Monday that the criminal definition of “apology for terrorism” was being modified to include the use of social media, after the first jail sentences for the alleged crime last month.
Continue reading...David Nixon disobeyed judge’s order not to mention climate crisis as motivation during trial over road-blocking protest
An environmental activist has been jailed for eight weeks after disobeying a judge’s instruction not to mention the climate crisis as his motivation during his trial for taking part in a road-blocking protest.
David Nixon, 36, a care worker from Barnsley, was sentenced at Inner London crown court on Tuesday after admitting contempt of court the day before by using his closing address to begin telling a jury about his reasons for protesting.
Continue reading...Hundreds of thousands expected to take part in more than 200 street demonstrations across country
France is facing a third day of strikes and mass street demonstrations against Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular plan to raise the pension age to 64, after the government faced shouting and booing in parliament as lawmakers began debating the bill.
Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to take part in more than 200 street demonstrations across France on Tuesday, from cities to small towns. Trains and urban transport will be severely disrupted, and one in five flights at Paris’s Orly airport will be cancelled. Some schools will close as teachers strike. Students are also blocking several university buildings across France.
Continue reading...President’s centrist group is without a majority as parliament begins debating proposal to raise retirement age to 64
As hundreds of thousands of people prepare to protest again this week against Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular plan to raise the pension age to 64, the French president’s domestic standing is at stake.
Macron, who came to power in 2017 promising a pro-business transformation of France to cut taxes and overhaul the social model and welfare system, has for months been under pressure to give some impetus to his second term in office.
Continue reading...Protests as former politicians, activists, campaigners and community workers appear in court accused of ‘conspiracy to commit subversion’
Hong Kong’s largest national security trial began on Monday, involving 47 of the city’s most high-profile democracy advocates, in a hearing that has been labelled a trial of the territory’s pro-democracy movement itself.
The group of former politicians, activists, campaigners, and community workers are accused of “conspiracy to commit subversion” over the holding of unofficial pre-election primaries in July 2020.
Continue reading...Amnesty does not apply to dual nationals, prisoners on death sentence or those that do not regret their crimes, say officials
A limited amnesty is to be offered to many of those detained in the recent Iranian protests, the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has agreed.
But the amnesty does not apply to dual nationals, those convicted of offences carrying the death penalty or those that refuse to admit and regret their crimes, the Iranian officials said.
Continue reading...Herero and Nama people demand direct talks and take Namibian government to court for accepting reparations on their behalf for 1904-1908 killings
Descendants of victims of genocide in Namibia have called on Germany to “stop hiding” and discuss reparations with them directly, as they take their own government to court for making a deal without their approval.
The Herero and Nama people have gone to Namibia’s high court, rejecting an apology made in 2021 after years of talks between Namibia and Germany, which they say falls short of atoning for the 1904 to 1908 genocide, the first of the 20th century.
Continue reading...LGBTQ+ protesters condemn cardinal’s record on same-sex marriage, women’s rights and protecting children from clergy abuse
Hundreds of people have marched in protest outside Cardinal George Pell’s funeral service at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, with heated exchanges between his detractors and admirers.
Campaign group Community Action for Rainbow Rights (Carr) planned the protest through Sydney to the cathedral on the day of Pell’s requiem mass, in condemnation of his opposition to same-sex marriage and women’s rights, and his failure to protect children from widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic church.
Continue reading...Jailed activists Tantawan Tuatulanon and Orawan Phupong are demanding lese-majesty law be repealed
Two young Thai activists accused of insulting the monarchy are in a weak, exhausted condition and experiencing symptoms such as nosebleeds and chest pain after a hunger strike during which they have only sipped water, according to their lawyer and doctors.
Tantawan “Tawan” Tuatulanon, 21, and Orawan “Bam” Phupong, 23, were accused of breaching Thailand’s lese-majesty law after they held up a poster at a shopping mall asking people whether they believed that royal motorcades – which lead to road closures – create trouble for the public. Tantawan faces a second lese-majesty case over a speech she gave on Facebook live.
Continue reading...Hundreds of thousands across transport, school and energy sectors rally against government scheme to raise retirement age to 64
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in street demonstrations across France in a second round of coordinated strike action against Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular plan to raise the retirement age to 64.
Transport, schools and the energy sector were hit by strike action on Tuesday. Local buses, trains and trams in cities from Paris to Nice, as well as regional and high-speed trains across the country, were “very significantly disrupted”, according to rail operators.
Continue reading...House of Lords votes against flagship public order bill on day when Extinction Rebellion protesters disrupted proceedings in chamber
A government bill aimed at cracking down on protest has suffered a number of setbacks in the House of Lords, setting the stage for a tense showdown between parliament’s two chambers.
Peers inflicted a number of defeats on the wide-ranging public order bill, which is aimed at curbing guerrilla tactics used by protest groups.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Letter to home secretary says bill echoes ‘dangerously broad laws’ that result in jailing of protesters
Hongkongers in Britain have called on Suella Braverman to reconsider controversial measures in her public order bill, which they likened to the repressive measures used to crack down on democratic opposition in their home city.
In a letter to the UK home secretary, aspects of the bill were described as “repressive measures that threaten to paralyse entire social movement” and posed a threat to their right to protest in Britain, including against Chinese communist repression in Hong Kong.
Continue reading...