The Socialist 21 July 2009 Defend every job Corus... Vestas... Defend every job! Vestas: Support the occupation Action to save steel jobs at Corus Defend the Four: Protest at the Unison witch-hunt Unison witch-hunt verdict causes outrage amongst trade unionists Youth fight for jobs fortnight of action National strike action to halt attacks on workers and our postal services Tube workers' action wins concessions South Yorkshire First Buses strike over pay Every little helps Tesco's as they attack workers Teachers strike against job cuts Union action to fight the attacks on our pensions BNP get police to arrest socialists Lincoln fights back against racist BNP Stop the BNP's 'festival' of hate Build the Tamil Solidarity campaign Devon residents against incinerators: Alternative waste schemes needed Another stepping stone towards health privatisation 20th anniversary of Soviet miners' strike 40th anniversary of the moon landing What steps has humanity taken? |
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Home | The Socialist 21 July 2009 | Join the Socialist Party BNP get police to arrest socialistsOn Tuesday 14 July I was arrested, along with two other Socialist Party members, on alleged public order offences following a complaint made by local members of the fascist-led British National Party Dylan Roberts, Wrexham Socialist PartyThe BNP's allegations were entirely without substance, and were a poor attempt at intimidation. The complaint related to campaigning on Saturday 30 May, when we were running a stall in Wrexham town centre. We were promoting the No2EU-Yes to Democracy European election challenge and campaigning against the BNP. We had spent two hours campaigning prior to the local BNP mob arriving and setting up a stall a few yards away from us. The BNP outnumbered us, but we did not rise to their deliberate attempts to provoke us. A member of the BNP approached us and made a number of racist comments, while another BNP member filmed us for several hours. ArrestsOne Socialist Party member was arrested at his home on 14 July at around 9am. I went to the police station of my own accord at around midday, where I was arrested. The third Socialist Party member went to the station after finishing work at 5pm, and he was also arrested. We were detained for up to two hours each. We were asked to provide a statement, and then subsequently to provide fingerprints and DNA, and we were photographed. We also spent time in the 'custody suites'. North Wales Police (NWP) treated us courteously, and the arresting officer behaved in a very professional manner. Nonetheless, the police had no evidence whatsoever, which leaves the question of why NWP chose to arrest us for what was evidently a fabricated charge. We were bailed unconditionally, to appear back at Wrexham police station in August. The following morning we were contacted by the arresting officer, who advised us that there would be no further action. We had to spend a fair amount of time in custody, and our DNA will be retained for 12 years, despite not being charged. We were told that we had been arrested because NWP had a duty to investigate the complaint, and that the only way in which the police could investigate was to arrest us. It is not acceptable for the police to detain socialists and anti-fascists simply for campaigning against the BNP. In this issue
No Job Cuts
Unison witchhunt
Youth fight for jobs
Workplace news
Pensions
Anti-racism
Socialist Party campaigns
Marxist analysis: history
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