#SilencingDissent: The #Crackdown on #PeacefulProtest in #Europe

In our recently published Rule of Law report, Liberties’ members reported an increase in restrictions on the right to peaceful protest in all countries.

by Flore du Teilleul
April 10, 2025

Excerpt:
"The right to peaceful protest is essential to our democracies, allowing people to come together with a unified voice to support or oppose key issues. It serves as a powerful mechanism for individuals to hold their governments to account and is often the last resort when prior messages go unheard. However, politicians often perceive this right as a threat, especially when force of numbers demonstrates support for an issue.

"In our recently published Rule of Law report, Liberties’ members reported an increase in restrictions on the right to peaceful protest in all countries - from bans on individual protests to the disproportionate use of force by the police and legislative changes. A widespread trend emerged of restricted #ProPalestine protests and #EnvironmentalDefenders receiving particularly harsh penalties.

Bans on Protests

"Restrictions on various protest movements justified on public safety grounds were documented in many member states. In #Germany, the Berlin Assembly Authorities implemented a temporary blanket ban targeting pro-Palestine demonstrations. Initially, the ban targeted celebrations of the mass murder and pro-Hamas demonstrations but later extended to all pro-Palestinian protests. Similarly, in #Latvia, an unregistered #FreePalestine movement protest was banned after an assessment by the state security service that the event would, among other risks, harm the country’s international interests.

"The Estonian police banned a protest in support of #Palestinians, which was later declared unlawful by the administrative court. In #Hungary, Prime Minister #ViktorOrbán publicly prejudiced support for Palestinians by linking it with terrorism, equating solidarity with civilians victims to threats to the public order. As the fifteen attempts to organise protests were successively banned, the government and the Prime Minister re-asserted their power by deciding what can be demonstrated for, namely, topics in line with their political interests. Following the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the Hungarian government has repeatedly declared and extended the state of danger, allowing for the adoption of emergency decrees restricting, among other rights, the freedom to assemble. Both the Hungarian Supreme Court and Constitutional Court upheld the protest bans on the basis of public safety and security, legalising the practice of police-authorised restrictions in times of conflict.

"Further restrictions, including bans on #slogans and #signs during #demonstrations, sought to criminalise protesters. Several individuals were arrested or fined for displaying signs or slogans related to Palestine. In #Belgium, activists faced administrative sanctions for carrying a #PalestinianFlag or the #keffiyeh. Similarly, in the #Netherlands, attendees of an #ExtinctionRebellion demonstration were prohibited from mentioning the conflict in the Middle East. The enforcement of restrictions went as far as arrests, as Croatian activists were charged with misdemeanor after projecting a message in support of Palestine on a building across from the Israeli Embassy in Zagreb.

"In Hungary, a demonstrator faced criminal charges after wearing a gas mask and removing it after being asked by the police. In a worrying trend of criminalising protest activities, several activists were arrested and charged with sedition before an Extinction Rebellion demonstration in the Netherlands.

Disproportionate use of force by the police

"The criminalisation of environmental and pro-Palestine protesters was worsened by the violent repression of the police through excessive use of force. This was particularly notable in Sweden, where student encampments in support of Palestinians were forcibly displaced and participants were charged with criminal offenses. #PainGrips, water guns and #WaterCannons were used against environmental activists, pro-Palestinian and anti-immigration demonstrators in Germany, the #Netherlands and #Ireland.

"Environmental activists faced similar fates, The NGO ‘#FranceNatureEnvironnement’ reported concerns to the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders following the violent repression of protesters during a demonstration against the A69 highway. In #Sweden, a woman was dismissed from her job at the Swedish Energy Agency for participating in an environmental demonstration and a growing number of #EcoActivists were fined for participating in peaceful protests."

Read more:
https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/rule-of-law-2025-protests/45384

#RightToProtest #SilencingDissent #AntiProtestLaws #EuropeanLaws #Croatia #ACAB #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #FreePalestine #FreeGaza #EnvironmentalProtests #EnvironmentalActivists

Silencing Dissent: The Crackdown on Peaceful Protest in Europe | LibertiesEU

In our recently published Rule of Law report, Liberties’ members reported an increase in restrictions on the right to peaceful protest in all countries - from bans on individual protests to the disproportionate use of force by the police and legislative changes.

Liberties.eu

#BigOil’s Plan To #Criminalize #Pipeline #Protests

By ExposedByCMD Editors
| June 18th, 2024
at 12:21 PM (CDT)

"#AnneWhiteHat found herself facing up to 10 years in prison after she was arrested for two counts of felony trespassing in September 2018 under one such law, which had just taken effect in Louisiana following pressure from oil and gas lobbyists.

She was one of four Native women who founded a resistance camp called L’eau Est La Vie, which was organizing nonviolent direct actions in protest of the #BayouBridgePipeline — a now-operating 163-mile pipeline owned by #EnergyTransfer that transports crude oil throughout the state. The protests ranged from a rendition of 'Crawfish the Musical' on the construction site to protesters locking themselves to pipeline equipment to tree sits in the centuries-old cypresses the company planned to tear down.

"The Bayou Bridge pipeline is the tail end of the #DakotaAccess route — White Hat had already joined her relatives to participate in the resistance camp at Standing Rock in North Dakota. 'I felt like it was a righteous cause, not to let them comfortably continue to threaten the waters of Indigenous #FirstNations,' she said. 'I was inspired from the work up North and just couldn’t let them continue down here unanswered and unchecked.'

White Hat had just finished leading a prayer ceremony when she was arrested at a boat ramp miles from the pipeline construction site. She was hauled into a sheriff deputy’s car with two other women and driven through tall sugar cane fields on the way to jail.

'It was terrifying,' said White Hat. 'We’re way out in the middle of nowhere. I was like, ‘Is this the point where I actually disappear?’

Investigative journalist Karen Savage was arrested that day, too — her second arrest under felony trespass charges as she reported on the Bayou Bridge protests. She was one of the only reporters to travel to the Atchafalaya Basin swamp, where the pipeline was being constructed.

By the time the water protectors got to the swamp, Savage said, they 'had done everything — they went to public meetings, they had petitions, they wrote letters, they tried to meet with the governor — they did everything they tell you in school, to participate and use your civil obligation in your community.' Despite their best efforts in one of the most oil- and gas-friendly states in the country, said Savage, 'nobody was listening.'"

https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2024/06/18/big-oils-plan-to-criminalize-pipeline-protests/

#BigOilAndGas #CriminalizingDissent #ACAB #HumanRightsViolations #IndigenousActivism #CorporateColonialism #IndigenousLandDefenders
#DirectAction #CorporateFascism #CriminalizingDissent
#WaterIsLife #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #EcoActivists #NoDAPL

Big Oil’s Plan To Criminalize Pipeline Protests - EXPOSEDbyCMD

At the urging of their fossil fuel donors, lawmakers are quietly working to massively expand criminal penalties against people who protest pipelines as part of negotiations over essential new federal pipeline safety regulations.

EXPOSEDbyCMD

Trial of #LandDefenders Fighting the #CoastalGasLink #Pipeline is Put on Hold as Canadian #Police Come Under Scrutiny for Excessive Force

The defense for three activists from #FirstNations argues abuse of process by security forces around the pipeline construction site, as the U.N. and Amnesty International allege excessive force, surveillance and #criminalization of land defenders.

By Keerti Gopal
January 24, 2024

"The trial of three Indigenous land defenders arrested at a pipeline construction site on #unceded #Wetsuweten First Nation land was adjourned until spring on Friday, as the court looks into potential abuses by Canadian police.

"In the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Smithers, B.C., the trial is the latest development in the nearly 12-year fight against the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline in the Canadian province.

"Land defenders #Sleydo#MollyWickham, #ShayLynnSampson and #CoreyJocko were found guilty of criminal contempt earlier this month, with Justice Michael Tanmen ruling that they broke a court injunction forbidding them from blocking access to construction for the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

"But immediately following the verdict, Tanmen began a week-long hearing to listen to the three individuals’ abuse of process applications, which allege that their Charter rights were violated during their arrests and detentions. During the hearing, the defense argued to stay the charges based on these applications, citing excessive force, aggressive behavior, offensive language and mocking by police.

"In Canada, the abuse of process doctrine allows courts to stay, or postpone, a proceeding on the grounds that some element of the process was unfair, and might undermine the legal system. In this case, the abuse of process application focused on treatment during and after arrests.

"The trial began on Jan. 8 and consisted mainly of witness testimony and evidence gathered in November 2021, during one of four major police raids at the pipeline between 2019 and 2023. The evidence included videos from social media and other videos taken by officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada’s national police service.

"The videos, and testimony from witnesses, including #RCMP officers, detailed the police using dogs and firearms and wielding chainsaws to cut down the doors of a cabin where Sleydo’ and Sampson were arrested. Jocko was arrested in another small structure close by.

"The activists allege police used excessive force to break down the doors and used offensive language, showing videos in which officers described arrestees as 'orcs' and 'ogres.' The abuse of process hearing will likely restart in June.

"Chief Na’Moks, a Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief and prominent advocate against the pipeline, said that the trial may serve as a template for future legal battles across Canada, where several other pipeline projects are underway.

"'This is going to affect everything else that happens, not only in #BritishColumbia but in #Canada,' Chief Na’Moks said last week. “This is the template that they want to use...and the harassment and constant abuse of #HumanRights has to stop.”

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24012024/first-nations-activists-fighting-coastal-gaslink-pipeline/

#ACAB #HumanRightsViolations #IndigenousActivism #BigOilAndGas #CorporateColonialism #IndigenousLandDefenders
#UncededLand #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent
#WaterIsLife #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #EcoActivists

Trial of Land Defenders Fighting the Coastal GasLink Pipeline is Put on Hold as Canadian Police Come Under Scrutiny for Excessive Force - Inside Climate News

The defense for three activists from First Nations argues abuse of process by security forces around the pipeline construction site, as the U.N. and Amnesty International allege excessive force, surveillance and criminalization of land defenders.

Inside Climate News

Abuse of process hearing for #Wetsuweten leader, blockade members to resume in June

The Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline would run from Dawson Creek to Kitimat, B.C., through traditional territory of the Wet'suwet'en

CBC
19 January 2024

"An abuse of process hearing for three people found guilty of criminal #contempt of court for blocking work on the #CoastalGasLink #pipeline in November 2021 is being adjourned until June.

"Two weeks were scheduled this month in B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers for a trial and abuse of process application for #Sleydo', also known as #MollyWickham, a Wing Chief of #CasYikh, a house group of the #Gidimten Clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation; #ShaylynnSampson, a #Gitxsan woman with Wet'suwet'en family ties and #CoreyJocko, who is Kanien'kehá:ka (#Mohawk) from #Akwesasne, which straddles the Quebec, Ontario and New York state borders.

"The accused were found guilty last Friday by Justice Michael Tammen of criminal contempt of court for breaking a 2019 injunction that impedes anyone from blocking work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

"Tammen then began hearing the abuse of process application that alleges #RCMP used excessive force when they were arrested and that they were treated unfairly while in custody.

"The filing asks if the judge doesn't stay their charges, then it would be appropriate to reduce their sentences based on their treatment by police.

"Several RCMP witnesses have testified so far about the two-day raid in November 2021 enforcing the injunction.

"Const. Mark Freeman and Cpl. Colin Warwick, who were in charge of police dogs on scene, testified on Friday.

"They told the court that the dogs were there to look for people who may be hiding in the area or detect possible booby traps, but they found no people or booby traps.

"During two days of testimony earlier this week, Supt. James Elliott spoke about factors that played a role in deciding the resources used to enforce the injunction.

"Elliott said he was considering information about half-cut trees along the side of the forest service road that had potential to fall, a social media post that indicated weapons were hidden under the snow in the area, the possibility of booby traps along the road and use of the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) warrior flag, that police thought indicated heightened #activism.

"Several other police witnesses also mentioned the potential for booby traps but no one said any were found.

"During cross-examination of the RCMP witnesses, defence lawyer Frances Mahon told the court the social media post was referring to the #Haudenosaunee great law of peace, in which five warring nations bury their weapons under a pine tree to unite.

"Mahon also played audio recordings in which officers can be heard referring to people being arrested as 'orcs' and 'ogre.' In another recording, RCMP officers can be heard laughing about an officer beating a person being arrested and grabbing and twisting their testicles.

"When the hearing resumes, the defence is expected to call several witnesses, including the three accused.

"The hearing is expected to resume in Smithers June 17-21."

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/abuse-process-hearing-wetsuweten-leader-215317616.html

#ACAB #SLAPPs #IndigenousActivism
#BigOilAndGas #CorporateColonialism
#IndigenousLandDefenders
#LandBack #2023PublicOrderAct #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent
#WaterIsLife #WaterProtectors
#ForestDefenders
#ClimateActivists
#ClimateJustice
#EcoActivists #HumanRightsViolations
#Article20 #RightToProtest

Abuse of process hearing for Wet'suwet'en leader, blockade members to resume in June

An abuse of process hearing for three people found guilty of criminal contempt of court for blocking work on the Coastal GasLink pipeline in November 2021 is...

Yahoo News

#Wetsuweten Law Cannot ‘Coexist’ with BC Court Order, Judge Determines
Chief Dsta’hyl has been found guilty of criminal contempt.

by Amanda Follett Hosgood, #TheTyee

21 Feb 2024

"Wet’suwet’en hereditary leaders have opposed #pipeline construction through their traditional territory since before the #CoastalGasLink pipeline project was first proposed. In December 2018, the B.C. Supreme Court issued an interim injunction to the company, which prohibited anyone from blocking pipeline access roads or work sites. A year later, on Dec. 31, 2019, the court granted a permanent injunction for the duration of the project.

[...]

"Last month, Tammen determined there was sufficient evidence to convict three #Indigenous #LandDefenders — Sleydo’ Molly Wickham, Shaylynn Sampson and Corey Jocko. They were arrested the day after Dennis and later charged with criminal #contempt. Hearings have begun into an application by the defence to stay the charges based on police conduct during the arrests.

"#ChiefDstahyl’s arrest took place in October 2021, after a series of interactions with Coastal GasLink workers and security contractors on the Shea Forest Service Road on Likhts’amisyu Clan territory.

"During those interactions, Dsta’hyl and others blocked access to a work camp and 'seized and rendered inoperable' multiple pieces of machinery belonging to Coastal GasLink contractors by cutting electrical wires and removing batteries, according to evidence presented during the trial.

"When Dsta’hyl was arrested, he had four batteries from heavy machinery in the back of his pickup truck, the judge said.

"'There is little dispute concerning the basic facts,' Tammen said, noting that video evidence documenting the incidents was presented during the trial.

"'Chief Dsta’hyl, acting as an enforcement officer for the Likhts’amisyu Clan, participated in the decommissioning of a piece of heavy equipment owned by a CGL subcontractor on Oct. 17, 2021. That action consisted of removing the battery from the equipment, an excavator, thus rendering it inoperable.'

"Witnesses for the defence included other #Likhtsamisyu Chiefs, who described the Wet’suwet’en traditional clan system and its role in governing the traditional territory. Among the Chiefs’ duties is preservation and protection of the traditional territory, or #yintah, Tammen said.

"Tammen also summarized the Wet’suwet’en law of trespass, something described in detail by defence witnesses, saying permission is required to access territory belonging to a house group 'beyond just passing through it.'

[...]

"Criminal contempt penalties can include fines or imprisonment. Sentencing has been set for 9 a.m. on March 6."

https://thetyee.ca/News/2024/02/21/Wetsuweten-Law-Cannot-Coexist-BC-Court-Order/

#SLAPPs #IndigenousActivism #BigOilAndGas #CorporateColonialism #IndigenousLandDefenders #LandBack #2023PublicOrderAct #DirectAction #ACAB #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterIsLife #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #EcoActivists #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch

Wet’suwet’en Law Cannot ‘Coexist’ with BC Court Order, Judge Determines | The Tyee

Chief Dsta’hyl has been found guilty of criminal contempt.

The Tyee

Gantry climber, #CressieGethin 22, found guilty

Court & Prison, Press / February 19, 2024

#JustStopOil supporter and gantry climber, Cressie Gethin, has been found guilty. Cressie took action in July 2022, demanding the UK government immediately halts all licensing and consents for new fossil fuel exploration and extraction.

The trial began on the 5th February at Isleworth Crown Court, with Judge Duncan presiding. The jury has found Cressie guilty by a majority of ten to two. Cressie, 22, a music student from Hereford, will be sentenced on the 3rd of May with two others. They face a possible ten year custodial sentence. [2]

During the trial Cressie was prevented from talking about her reasons for taking action and was denied any legal defence by the judge. The court heard a witness testimony from acclaimed naturalist and television presenter, Chris Packham, who commented that those taking action like Cressie “should be commended for sounding a vital alarm”. He added: “I am attending court to support Cressie Gethin because I don’t think she is getting a fair trial. I think, along with the UN, that the UK’s protest laws and sentencing of protesters are unjust, draconian, and in conflict with our basic human rights.”

Cressie climbed a motorway gantry above the M25 on the 20th July 2022, two days after the governments’ net zero strategy was declared unlawful, and one day after the UK recorded its highest ever temperature of 40.3 degrees celsius, a milestone that scientists previously thought was impossible. 61,000 excess deaths were recorded across Europe as a result of the extreme heat that summer, whilst the UK government continued to licence new oil and gas. [5]

Speaking before the action in 2022, Cressie said:

“I am terrified by the extreme heat in the UK this week, knowing that this will only get worse as we continue to extract and burn more and more fossil fuels. This country has the technology and money to begin a just and rapid transition to renewable energy immediately, but our government refuses to do so. I feel it is my duty as a human being to demand change in a way that cannot be ignored.

Thousands of people will die this week as a result of the extreme temperatures we are experiencing in the UK. We are in this situation because of increasing global temperatures caused by the emissions from burning fossil fuels. Against this backdrop, the UK government plans to open new oil and gas fields. I am dumbfounded by their negligence.

I am thinking of the countless people across the country and abroad who are now experiencing illness and death as a result of the climate crisis. People are angry that our government is continuing down the path of destruction, and we will not simply stand by and let this happen.”

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson commented:

“It would be extremely convenient for everyone if the climate crisis could be removed from our lives by the ruling of a Judge. If we could imprison the wildfires, if we could arrest famines, or if we could legislate against the rising sea waters that will leave parts of Britain submerged, that would be a fantastic outcome – but the reality is that we can’t and rapid decarbonisation is the only way of preventing these horrifying outcomes.

However, the judiciary – like the police – is proving to be an effective arm of the oil and gas industry, by silencing and imprisoning members of the public taking nonviolent action against climate collapse. Future generations will be disgusted by rulings such as this.”

As the world passes tipping points that threaten the breakdown of ordered civilization, world leaders, captured by the interests of oil lobbyists and big business, are failing to protect our communities. British citizens are sick of being led by liars and crooks. Until we stop Tory oil, supporters of Just Stop Oil will continue taking proportionate action to demand necessary change. Sign up for action at juststopoil.org.

https://juststopoil.org/2024/02/19/gantry-climber-cressie-gethin-22-found-guilty/

#SLAPPs #2023PublicOrderAct #DirectAction #ACAB #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterIsLife #BigOilAndGas #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #ClimateActivists
#ClimateJustice #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #SlowMarch

Gantry climber, Cressie Gethin 22, found guilty – Just Stop Oil

Just Stop Oil supporter and gantry climber, Cressie Gethin, has been found guilty. Cressie took action in July 2022, demanding the UK government immediately halts all licensing and consents for new fossil fuel exploration and extraction. [1] The trial began on the 5th February at Isleworth Crown Court, with Judge Duncan presiding. The jury has

Just Stop Oil – No More Oil and Gas

#GretaThunberg cleared after unlawful protest arrest

2nd February 2024, 01:49 EST

"Greta Thunberg and four co-defendants have been found not guilty of breaking the law when they refused to follow police instructions to move on during a #ClimateProtest.

"District Judge John Law threw out a public order charge due to 'no evidence' of any offence being committed adding police attempted to impose 'unlawful' conditions.

"The 21-year-old was arrested at a #ClimateCrisis demonstration near the InterContinental Hotel in Mayfair on 17 October.

"The judge said that the conditions imposed on protesters were 'so unclear that it is unlawful'.

"He added that it meant that 'anyone failing to comply were actually committing no offence'."

Read more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68180317

#DirectAction #ACAB #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent
#WaterIsLife
#WaterProtectors
#ForestDefenders
#ClimateActivists
#ClimateJustice
#CorporateColonialism
#EcoActivists
#Censorship
#HumanRightsViolations
#Article20
#RightToProtest
#SlowMarch #BigOilAndGas #SLAPPs #2023PublicOrderAct

Greta Thunberg cleared after unlawful protest arrest

Greta Thunberg was arrested at a protest in October, with the judge ruling the law was unclear.

BBC News

Inside the last-ditch effort to stop the #MountainValleyPipeline

The project is over budget and behind schedule, with a lot of hard work left to do. Its opponents hope that makes #FossilFuel companies think twice about building the next one.

By Katie Myers
Published Jan 16, 2024

"As day broke over the small mountain town of #EllistonVirginia, one Monday in October, masked figures in thick coats emerged from the woods surrounding a construction site. Three of them approached three excavators and, one by one, locked themselves to the machines, bringing the day’s work to a halt. As they did so, several dozen of their fellow protesters gathered around them, unfurling banners and chanting amid the groaning and beeping of construction equipment.

"They made their way across the field, over patches of bare earth, around sections of rusty pipe meant for burial beneath the mountain. Eventually the metal tubes will form yet another section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will soon carry 2 billion cubic feet of #fracked #methane from the #ShaleFields of #WestVirginia to #NorthCarolina each day. Their breath billowed in the crisp air. Beyond them stretched a bright blue sky, and mountains tinged with yellow. The past night’s rain pooled on the muddy and compacted soil beneath their feet.

"Workers in highlighter-yellow vests and hard hats milled around, some looking amused, others frustrated. One or two engaged with the #protesters, only to be told off by an irate site manager. A few miles away at the West Virginia state line, another three dozen or so activists did much the same atop #PetersMountain. One even managed to crawl under an excavator and lock herself in place, despite the cold. The others rallied around, enclosing her in a tight, protective circle.

Some might wonder why they bothered. After all, the project is, by the Mountain Valley Pipeline company’s estimate, 94 percent complete and will be wrapped up before summer. It stalled for several years amid legal fights over various permits, but Senator #JoeManchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, almost single-handedly revived it in 2022 in exchange for his support of key Democratic priorities. Since then, the Biden administration and the Supreme Court have all but assured its completion. With the approximately 303-mile pipeline approaching the final stretch after almost a decade’s work, it might seem hardly worth fighting at this point.

"A large contingent of steadfast opposition begs to differ — and will enthusiastically explain why. The pipeline is six years behind schedule, about half a billion dollars over budget, and, despite promises that it would be done by the end of last year, delayed once again. The remaining construction is over rugged terrain, with hundreds of water crossings left to bridge. The company recently postponed, shortened, and rerouted its planned extension into North Carolina, a proposal long stymied by permitting problems with the main line. And, just last month, #Equitrans, which owns the #pipeline and many others across the country, was said to be considering selling itself. The road to the pipeline’s completion remains rocky, its opponents argue, with many opportunities to make finishing it as difficult as possible.

"'We cannot let them destroy our land and water,' said a young woman named Ericka. Like many interviewed for this story, she gave only her first name out of fear of reprisal from #MountainValleyPipelineLLC, which has begun suing #protesters in a bid to silence them. She had brought her three children to occupy the land that day. 'What are we going to drink? Where are we going to live? People have to come here and stop this.'"

https://grist.org/protest/inside-the-last-ditch-effort-to-stop-the-mountain-valley-pipeline/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

#SilencingDissent #DirectAction #ClimateCatastrophe #NoFracking #WaterIsLife #SLAPPs #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship
#HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #BigOilAndGas

Inside the last-ditch effort to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline

The pipeline is over budget and late, with more hard work ahead. Opponents hope that discourages fossil fuel companies from building others.

Grist

ICYMI, from 2016: #StandingRock Medics Attacked by Police and Arrested

by Brenda Norrell, #CensoredNews
October 27, 2016

CANNON BALL, North Dakota -- "One of the Standing Rock medics described how police targeted medics, and violently arrested medics, while they were treating people during the violent police attack on Standing Rock water protectors on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016 at Treaty Camp, directly on the path of Dakota Access Pipeline.

"The medic could see silencers on police weapons.

"'If they are here for peace, then why do their weapons have silencers on them?'

"As the medics struggled to treat those who were victims of the police attack, they became victims and were violently arrested.

"'The vehicle we were in had red crosses on it. They knew we were medics.They sprayed me head to toe. They pointed shotguns at my back while I was treating patients."

Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2016/10/standing-rock-medics-shot-by-police-and.html

#StandWithStandingRock #DirectAction #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship #HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #BigOilAndGas #ACAB

Standing Rock Medics Attacked by Police and Arrested

Censored News is a service to grassroots Indigenous Peoples engaged in resistance and upholding human rights.