British human rights groups have accused police of undermining civil liberties after officers arrested dozens of people to avoid disruption at the coronation of King Charles III.
The Metropolitan Police said they made 52 arrests on the day Charles was crowned king, in particular for “brawl, breach of public order, breach of public order and association of criminals with a view to causing a public nuisance”.
Rights organizations said the arrests showed the right to speech in the UK was under threat after the government imposed new powers to stop protests days before the holy saturday.
The crackdown was the latest in a “concerted attack” on civil liberties, said Martha Spurrier, director of campaign organization Liberty.
Police pre-emptively arresting people for planning disruptive protests was a “manifestation of fundamental change” against free speech, she added. “They are laying the groundwork to try to end this dissent quickly and effectively.”
Anti-monarchy group Republic said on Twitter that six members, including its chief executive, Graham Smith, were arrested and hundreds of signs seized on Saturday morning. The group had announced that they would protest the coronation by making their objections “loud, visible and impossible to ignore”.
“There is no longer a right to peaceful protest in the UK,” Smith said in a tweet on Sunday. “I have often been told that the monarch is there to defend our freedoms. Now our freedoms are under attack in his name.
Three Westminster Council volunteers, who were supporting a women’s safety initiative in central London late at night by distributing bottled water and rape alarms, were also among those believed to have been arrested.
The Met said it had received reports that groups had planned to disrupt the coronation procession using anti-rape alarms. He arrested three people in central London around 2am on Saturday. They were later released on bail.
Westminster cabinet member Aicha Less said the council was “deeply concerned” by reports of voluntary arrests and was working with police to establish what had happened.
Several opposition MPs criticized the police response, including Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey. He accused the government of having ‘passed legislation to clamp down on protests which violated British traditions of civil liberties’.
The Public Order Bill, which received Royal Assent last week, made certain types of disruptive protests a criminal offense and introduced new police powers, including the right to intervene to stop protests before they happen.
Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said last month that the law imposes “serious and undue restrictions” on freedom of expression.
Karen Findlay, a Met Police commander, said on Saturday a “significant” police operation responded to reports that protesters were planning to disrupt the coronation motorcade.
The Met sought to respond “proportionately. . . when the protest becomes criminal and can cause serious disruption,” she said, adding that the “one-in-a-generation” nature of the coronation contributed to the Met’s assessment.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer told the BBC on Sunday that police had to make “difficult choices” between ensuring the coronation went smoothly and allowing the right to protest.
—————————————————-
Source link