I58-Network

The Crown Court cleared three activists of the charges of "obstructing the police" on Friday.

The Inner London Crown Court ruled that police surveillance of a public political meeting had not been proved to be lawful and that the police had failed to provide any evidence that they were pursuing a "legitimate aim". The three activists were arrested at a meeting called by London NoBorders in June 2008 when they protested against the surveillance of the meeting by "Forward Intelligence Team" - Report.

The Crown Prosecution Service has announced that the police officer who was caught on video striking Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests last year who later died will not face criminal charges.

London Class war have called for people to gather outside the offices of Keir Starmer the DPP next Friday 30th July from 12-2pm. Ian Cameron of the George Davis Defence Campaign will be speaking there.

Read a personal account on the events relating to Mr. Tomlisnon's death.

80 days ago the democracy village set up on parliament square. Now it has gone. After losing the court hearing on 16th July (press release), and sending a call out to stand up for democracy, the eviction started just after 1am on Monday night. The public square was fenced in and democracy out (pics | video), and the two people in D-locks couldn't stop this. No one was arrested, but calls were made for a day of non-violent direct action today and a people's assembly this Saturday 1pm.

See the democracy village newswire at
london.indymedia.org/about/democracy_village

Report

"Not only do we have to fight criminal operations and cruelty to animals on the high seas but also take responsibility and direct action to help those who are imprisoned in concrete pools, doomed to entertain us."

Palawas, Nando, Kite and Rocko. Those are the given names to four bottlenose dolphins who are currently performing at the dolphinarium in Münster, Germany. Built in 1974 as part of the local zoo, the dolphinarium remains one of the last three of its kind in Germany. From the original nine facilities keeping dolphins in captivity, only Nürnberg, Duisburg and Münster are still blocking and ignoring concerns of animal welfare groups, conservationists, politicians and the public.

Links: The Black Fish | Save Japan Dolphins

Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity have called for international action to stop the house demolitions, harassment and attempted ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley.

Within days of video footage being released showing Netanyahu's stated intentions to declare the entire Jordan Valley as a closed military area,the Israeli army destroyed 26 homes in the small village of Al Farisiya.

The call for action was launched in Brighton on Tuesday, with the establishment of a Palestine Solidarity Settlement in Waitrose. Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity is calling on others to:

* Call local demonstrations against companies that sell Israeli produce, and Zionist organisations that support settlement expansion in the Jordan Valley

* Donate to the fund to rebuild the demolished houses (email brightontubas@gmail.com)

* Write to those responsible for the house demoitions

* Go to the Jordan Valley to support the local community

The second Sheffield Indy Radio Show, Deportations, The EDL and Divide and Rule, features a discussion about the recent EDL confrontation at a Sheffield Indymedia meeting [MPEG video], the campaigns to oppose the deportations of two women from Sheffield, Odette Sefuko and Lem Lem Hussein Abdu, a listing of upcoming events from Alt-Sheff, news about the BP gulf oil spill via Democracy Now.

Read on to listen to the show and more details about what is in the show, Intro, Deportations, the BP Oil Spill, the EDL and some Chat. If you missed it the first Sheffield Indy Radio Show came out on 17th June 2010.

“After 16 months of waiting, to hear nothing is being done is a complete joke. Today they gave us no hope. This experience has broken our family apart. The DPP has told us there was an unlawful act, yet no charges are to be brought. This is no justice - everyone has failed us.” - Ian Tomlinson's son Paul King.

Ian Tomlinson, a 47 year old news-vendor was killed at the G20 protests in April 2009. His family have waited until now to find out what action the justice system was going to take. The Director of Public Prosecution Keir Starmer stated today (Thurs) that there would be no charges brought against any police officers involved in the death of Ian Tomlinson. This astonishingly bare faced whitewash prompted the director of INQUEST Deborah Coles to say “The eyes of the world will be looking on with incredulity as yet again a police officer is not facing any criminal charges after what is one of the most clear-cut and graphic examples of police violence that has led to death. This decision is a shameful indictment of the way police criminality is investigated and demonstrates a culture of impunity when police officers break the law. It follows a pattern of cases that reveal an unwillingness to treat deaths arising from the use of force by police as potential homicides”

On the Newswire: 1 | 2 | 3

Family Campaign Fighting Fund | Picket of DPP 30/7

In SchNEWS: 508 | 647)

Links: www.inquest.org.uk | www.iantomlinsonfamilycampaign.org.uk

This week sees GM firmly back in the spotlight. On Wednesday the EU took a huge step in pushing forward the genetic modification agenda by copping out of regulation and putting the decision on whether to GM grow or not back into the hands of national governments. The European Commission approved changes to the rules which may break the deadlock that has prevented any significant cultivation of GM crops in Europe. What does this mean for GM production in the UK and other nation-states? And where does this leave the resistance movement?

On the Newswire: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

In SchNEWS: 622 | 583 | 346 | 319

As SchNews reports from the new Rossport frontline

There is still plenty of ire left in Ireland as campaigners ready themselves for another summer of action against Shell and their plans to despoil the coast of County Mayo with a new gas pipeline (see SchNEWS 719). The project is already a decade late and three times over budget; pretty impressive for a small community fighting one of the biggest multinationals in the world.

Rossport on the newswire:
Rossport Solidarity | Shelltosea Summer Gathering | Bristol Solidarity Night | Norfolk Shell gas terminal blockaded! | Shell due to start work

George Orwell writes: That was the message coming loud and clear from the community at a meeting about the Spy Cameras that have been put up in the Balsall Heath and Washwood Heath areas of Birmingham under the name ‘Project Champion’. Without any public consultation, ‘Project Champion’ saw the positioning of around 150 ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras and 72 covert surveillance cameras. These cameras happen to be sited in two predominantly muslim areas in Birmingham. These cameras record all vehicle movements and have the capacity to photograph front seat passangers. The meeting was attended by about 250 people and any suggestion of taking down the cameras was greeted with an ever increasing roar of approval. The temperature is rising and West Midlands Police have created a powder keg of anger and resentment primed with a fuse of mistrust.
Related Feature: Campaign Against CCTV Camera Surveillance in Balsall Heath

The appeal by Democracy Village after last week's High Court ruling will be heard at 10.30am this Friday (9th July) at the appeals court. In the meantime the camp is still going on strong, having started 'Operation Rolling Thunder', more – an ongoing programme of non-violent direct action. The village is calling out for people to come down and help on multiple fronts: to come and do actions, to help with the site, keep it tidy and maintain the gardens. There is a particular call-out for those with direct action skills and experience.

Previous newswire postings: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Photos: 1 2

The EDO Decommissioners have all walked free after unanimous acquittals following the three week trial which concluded on Friday (2nd July) at Hove Crown Court. What began as a trial of the Decommissioners effectively ended up with the Brighton arms manufacturer, and the war crimes of the Israeli state, in the dock. Is it all over for EDO/ITT in Brighton? It might be now...