Monday, September 29, 2008
Use of Force Against RNC Protesters “Disproportionate,” Charges Amnesty International
[London]--Amnesty International is concerned by allegations of excessive use of force and mass arrests by police at demonstrations in St. Paul, Minnesota during the Republican National Convention (RNC) from September 1-4, 2008. The human rights organization is calling on the city and county authorities to ensure that all allegations of ill-treatment and other abuses are impartially investigated, with a review of police tactics and weapons in the policing of demonstrations.
The organization’s concerns arise from media reports, video and photographic images which appear to show police officers deploying unnecessary and disproportionate use of non-lethal weapons on non-violent protestors marching through the streets or congregating outside the arena where the Convention was being held.
Amnesty International urges that an inquiry be carried out promptly, that its findings and recommendations be made public in a timely manner. If the force used is found to have been excessive and to have contravened the principles of necessity and proportionality, then those involved should be disciplined, measures put in place and training given to ensure future policing operations conform to international standards.
Police are reported to have fired rubber bullets and used batons, pepper spray, tear gas canisters and concussion grenades on peaceful demonstrators and journalists. Amnesty International has also received unconfirmed reports that some of those arrested during the demonstrations may have been ill-treated while held at Ramsey county jail.
Amnesty International is also concerned at reports that several journalists who were covering the RNC were arbitrarily arrested while filming and reporting on the demonstrations. They include host of independent news program Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman, and two of the program’s producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, who were both allegedly subjected to violence during their arrest. A photographer for the Associated Press (AP) and other journalists were also arrested while covering the demonstrations.
Kouddous described his arrest to media, “…two or three police officers tackled me. They threw me violently against a wall. Then they threw me to the ground. I was kicked in the chest several times. A police officer ground his knee into my back…I was also, the entire time, telling them, ‘I’m media. I’m press….,’ but…that didn’t seem to matter at all.”
Amnesty International recognizes the challenges involved in policing large scale demonstrations and that some protestors may have been involved in acts of violence or obstruction. However, some of the police actions appear to have breached United Nations (U.N.) standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials. These stipulate, among other things, that force should be used only as a last resort, in proportion to the threat posed, and should be designed to minimize damage or injury. Some of the treatment also appears to have contravened U.S. laws and guidelines on the use of force. The U.N. standards also stress that everyone is allowed to participate in lawful and peaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For more information, please contact the AIUSA media office at 202-544-0200 x302 or visit our website at www.amnestyusa.org.
The organization’s concerns arise from media reports, video and photographic images which appear to show police officers deploying unnecessary and disproportionate use of non-lethal weapons on non-violent protestors marching through the streets or congregating outside the arena where the Convention was being held.
Amnesty International urges that an inquiry be carried out promptly, that its findings and recommendations be made public in a timely manner. If the force used is found to have been excessive and to have contravened the principles of necessity and proportionality, then those involved should be disciplined, measures put in place and training given to ensure future policing operations conform to international standards.
Police are reported to have fired rubber bullets and used batons, pepper spray, tear gas canisters and concussion grenades on peaceful demonstrators and journalists. Amnesty International has also received unconfirmed reports that some of those arrested during the demonstrations may have been ill-treated while held at Ramsey county jail.
Amnesty International is also concerned at reports that several journalists who were covering the RNC were arbitrarily arrested while filming and reporting on the demonstrations. They include host of independent news program Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman, and two of the program’s producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, who were both allegedly subjected to violence during their arrest. A photographer for the Associated Press (AP) and other journalists were also arrested while covering the demonstrations.
Kouddous described his arrest to media, “…two or three police officers tackled me. They threw me violently against a wall. Then they threw me to the ground. I was kicked in the chest several times. A police officer ground his knee into my back…I was also, the entire time, telling them, ‘I’m media. I’m press….,’ but…that didn’t seem to matter at all.”
Amnesty International recognizes the challenges involved in policing large scale demonstrations and that some protestors may have been involved in acts of violence or obstruction. However, some of the police actions appear to have breached United Nations (U.N.) standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials. These stipulate, among other things, that force should be used only as a last resort, in proportion to the threat posed, and should be designed to minimize damage or injury. Some of the treatment also appears to have contravened U.S. laws and guidelines on the use of force. The U.N. standards also stress that everyone is allowed to participate in lawful and peaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For more information, please contact the AIUSA media office at 202-544-0200 x302 or visit our website at www.amnestyusa.org.
Labels: Arrests, March for Our Lives 2008, Police, RNC
PPEHRC Members on trial in both Minneapolis and St. Paul on Oct. 1st.
In Minneapolis on October 1st at 9:30AM, PPEHRC members Cheri Honkala, Natasha Euler and Deeq Abdi will go to court for demonstrating at the Minneapolis Office Housing And Urban Development (a public building) regarding the housing crisis in America prior to the RNC.
On the afternoon of October 1st at 1:00PM in St. Paul, PPEHRC Members Cheri Honkala and Tim Dowlin will go to court for setting up Bushville, a tent city for poor and homeless people to gather, at Harriet Island Regional Park (a public park) prior to the RNC.
At a time when millions of people are losing their homes to foreclosure and banks are crashing, let's stand by the Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign in
order to create another kind of world.
Please call the Mayors of Minneapolis and St Paul today and demand that all
charges be dropped!
Mayor R.T. Rybak
City of Minneapolis
(612) 673-2100
Mayor Chris Coleman
City of St. Paul
(651) 266-8510
Please also send this to as many other people as you can.
On the afternoon of October 1st at 1:00PM in St. Paul, PPEHRC Members Cheri Honkala and Tim Dowlin will go to court for setting up Bushville, a tent city for poor and homeless people to gather, at Harriet Island Regional Park (a public park) prior to the RNC.
At a time when millions of people are losing their homes to foreclosure and banks are crashing, let's stand by the Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign in
order to create another kind of world.
Please call the Mayors of Minneapolis and St Paul today and demand that all
charges be dropped!
Mayor R.T. Rybak
City of Minneapolis
(612) 673-2100
Mayor Chris Coleman
City of St. Paul
(651) 266-8510
Please also send this to as many other people as you can.
Labels: Arrests, Bushville, HUD Sit-in, March for Our Lives 2008, Police, Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, PPEHRC
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Police aggression outside the Republican National Convention
by Kashish Das Shrestha | September 2008 | Courtesy of http://samudaya.org/
Photography by Kashish; Produced by Anup Kaphle
Labels: M4OL Coverage, March for Our Lives 2008, Police
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