Legal update – no 3

Legal update – no 3

Please take the time to read this update.

We have now sorted the various statements and search information people gave us at the camp, and are responding to requests from those arrested or injured or their solicitors for information. We are trying to engage with Kent Police to make the return of property process more realistic. We are preparing a report to form the basis of representations to MPs and formal submissions to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights who are looking at policing and protest (closed date 22 September). A judicial review is hopefully going ahead on the blanket use of section 1 PACE and we are looking at what options are available to challenge the seizures.

The most urgent requests…(there are lots so please keep reading)

Video recordings – if you have them and have not put them on the web – please let legal know what you have asap as they may be relevant to the report or the legal proceedings. Even if you have placed your recordings on the web we will need access to the originals so please contact legal so we know how to contact you.

For witnesses at K5 on Monday to arrests and injuries and police violence who have not already given statements especially those with video recordings or photos. Please email legal@climatecamp.org.uk. In particular: Marg had her wrist broken on Monday afternoon at about 2.30pm – we have a photo and plan we can send if you think you might have seen it (she was at the rear left hand corner of the parked silver car parked to the left and in front of the parked red van and she is a mature women, slim, with dark brown bobbed hair with a fringe). Nat is looking for witnesses and especially videos. He was arrested at K5 at around 3pm. He was to the right of all the cars at K5 (from the camp perspective) and before the first charge of riot police was in the ditch near the fence. For the second charge (when he got arrested) he was a bit to the left of the little ditch but still to the right of all the cars. He was wearing a dark green/brown jumper, with 2 beige stripes across the chest with a white patterned collar visible, and grey shorts. He is white with very dark brown hair and short and around 5’ 8”. He ended up on the other side of the police lines during the second riot police charge, trying to help another camper next to him whose belt he had hold of. He was kicked several times on the floor by a riot police officer then dragged along the floor before being arrested. Paddy, Sterl and Sonny were arrested at K5 at 5.45am and are looking for footage and any more witnesses. George was injured by the police that morning. Officer (2444? Met) was hitting people and hit his right forearm causing it to fracture and break although he did not know it at the time. This film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I00KnM-rqT4 shows it. The officer nearest the lens in full view. I think it happened during first 30 odd seconds of the video but you can't see me get hit on this angle. I come into view from right on 29 seconds briefly, shouting. I appear on left at 1:29 and point with my left hand. Then there's lots of the back of me. He needs the person who made the recording and other witnesses. Please contact legal if you can help.

For more legally aided people (low income – approx less than £14,000 with low savings) who might be willing to be parties to a judicial review case on the searches and who:

- were searched on the train, at the station, at the roundabout, in the car park and the entrance or at least three of the above
OR
- suffered an excessive number of searches under section 1 and section 60
OR
- suffered a detriment because of the searches (either deterring them so
they did not even attend or visit again, or so that their limited time at the camp was reduced significantly by the search time – this might point to local people maybe or day visitors – maybe the Networking group can follow this up?).

For people threatened with section 50 (antisocial behaviour) to obtain their name and address.

For more people threatened with arrest for suspected immigration offences to obtain their name and address. There was a man in the Scottish & Newcastle barrio who arrived early on with his father and a lorry with tat. Late on in the week he was searched and detained for some period to obtain his name and address due to his accent on the grass verge outside the Golf Club and shouted to a female legal observer for assistance who was only able to shout back. Please could he make contact with legal (if you know who he is please make contact with him to ask him to do this).

For people threatened with arrest for having stolen a mobile phone or otherwise had their mobile phone tampered with in terms of scrolling through personal details or having their IME number checked.

As a matter of urgency, if you had something seized and have the search form record, and the item and/or the explanation for its seizures was plain silly or undermined your ability to enjoy the camp or similar, please email with your story. Write to legal@climatecamp.org.uk with the full details. We may wish to use your story for the report we are writing for the joint parliamentary committee. We are also looking for potential litigants for county count cases.

A man in a black fleece and blue rucksack was manhandled by an inspector at the Golf Club search point on Saturday 9th August at 10.35am and is looking for the legal observer who he spoke to afterwards in case they made some notes. If you might be able to help or saw what happened please contact legal@climatecamp.org.uk.

Legal observer jackets –if you have one please post to CC Legal c/o Voices UK, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX.

Arrested? - this year we would quite like to monitor the outcome of arrests so please do let us know if you end up not being charged, or having the charges dropped, or if you do get convicted what the conviction is for and what the outcome in terms of a fine etc. If you have a court date coming up and need access to statements and potential witnesses please contact us directly, or via your solicitor, on legal@climatecamp.org.uk.

Injured? – if you were injured and need access to statements and potential witnesses please contact us directly, or via your solicitor, on legal@climatecamp.org.uk.

Arrests/injuries or want to make a complaint about a police abuse of powers – We can give you a copy of any statement you made at the camp to help you. We can put out specific call outs for witnesses and films and photos. It can help if you supply us with a diagram to show where the incident happened and a photo and tell us whether these can be shared by email and over the internet or only with potential witnesses. We suggest you also look carefully at indymedia, the Climate Camp website and youtube for films and photos.

The Climate Camp legal team has a pink search form for 19:47 7 August 2008, male, Point 1 Dux Court Road (main car park?) where during a section 60 search a bike chain was seized - a seal number was written on the receipt. If this might be yours please contact legal@climatecamp.org.uk.

To support our plans for legal, political and media activity, a web-based survey on searches and seizures and so forth is coming soon, please do take part and encourage others who came to the camp to do so too.

Reclaiming seized property
No news on the disclaimer yet – the relevant person in Kent police is away. So position is unchanged since last update. Wait for news.
If you had items taken from the police search of the site and want it back, it may be possible (still trying to sort out logistics) to arrange for their collection from the Manchester gathering – please arrange this with your neighbourhood and keep legal informed.

How to complain
Do complain about what you experienced – especially if you can be specific about the police officers involved – by writing to Kent Police Professional Services (who have taken on agency staff ready). It helps to make it clear that you would like it treated as a formal complaint as then the next step if you are unhappy with the outcome is to appeal to the IPCC. If you have already written and did not do this, when you get your response write and are not happy with it, write to appeal against the decision and ask for confirmation that it will be forwarded to the IPCC or for confirmation that it will looked at again as a formal complaint so you can then exercise your right to complaint to the IPCC. Please send us copies of your letters and responses.

Don’t forget to write to your local MP and other MPs and tell them about yourself and why you were going to the Camp, what you experienced and what you saw and express your concerns about disproportionate policing, abuse of powers, suppression of your human right to freedom of assembly and expression as part of a democratic society etc. If you do, please send a copy of your letter and any response to legal@climatecamp.org.uk.

Feedback to Legal on what went well as well as what could be improved
We would value hearing receiving specific feedback from anyone with some to give about the Legal Group’s work at the camp and especially if you were a legal observer or attended a legal training of some sort.

Volunteers to help Legal
Nothing specific in mind at the moment, but the workload may be growing so if anyone has the interest and time let us know.