Thousands of King Charles III’s subjects protested against the monarchy Saturday in London ā and heavy-handed police detained many of them for “suspicion of breaching the peace.”
Earlier this week, the Metropolitan PoliceĀ tweetedĀ that they would have an āextremely low toleranceā of those seeking to āundermineā King Charles III’s coronation day.
āA significant police operation is underway in central London,ā the Metropolitan PoliceĀ saidĀ in a statement Saturday. āThe individuals have been held on suspicion of breaching the peace.ā
At around 7 a.m. police stopped six of the anti-monarchy group Republicās organizers and told them they were detaining and searching them, Republic director Harry Stratton told CNN at the protest. The group had been walking behind a rental van containing hundreds of placards. āThey didnāt say why they were arresting them. They didnāt tell them or us where they were taking them. It really is like something out of a police state,ā Stratton said.
Among those arrested ahead of a protest in Londonās Trafalgar Square was Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic.
āThis morning, Graham Smith and five members of our team were arrested. Hundreds of placards were seized,ā RepublicĀ tweeted. āIs this democracy?ā
ProtestersĀ sayĀ police warned them not to chant āanything that may be deemed offensive.ā
The Metropolitan Police said those arrested were being āheld on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance.ā
Just Stop Oil reported that around 20 of its climate demonstrators had been arrested, with photos showing a man wearing a T-shirt with the groupās name being detained in Whitehall. āHe was arrested along with 20 others,ā Just Stop Oil tweeted. āFree speech is a core British value ā and we have just lost it. No supporters of Just Stop Oil arrested in the crowd had glue, paint or any plans to disrupt the coronation. We are living in a dystopian nightmare.ā
Human Rights Watch’s UK director Yasmine Ahmed said in a statement: “The reports of people being arrested for peacefully protesting the coronation are incredibly alarming. This is something you would expect to see in Moscow not London.
“Peaceful protests allow individuals to hold those in power to account, something the UK government seems increasingly averse to.ā
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UKās chief executive, said: āWe need to see what details emerge around these incidents but merely being in possession of a megaphone or carrying placards should never be grounds for a police arrest.
āPeaceful protest is clearly protected under international human rights law and itās been worrying to see the police this week making numerous statements about their ālow toleranceā for disruption at the coronation. The coronation shouldnāt become yet another excuse for undermining peopleās basic human rights in this country and weāre awaiting more details over these concerning reports of arrests.ā
āWeāve recently had the introduction of extremely draconian legislation outlawing ādisruptiveā or ānoisyā protests, which has given the police excessive ā and highly subjective ā powers and seriously damaged peopleās right of free speech and public assembly.
āThe coronation shouldnāt become yet another excuse for undermining peopleās basic human rights in this country.ā
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