Government has encouraged use of stop and search and detention without charge
Armed police will use anti-terrorism powers to "deal robustly" with climate change protesters at Heathrow next week, as confrontations threaten to bring major delays to the already overstretched airport.
Up to 1,800 extra officers will be drafted in to prevent an estimated 1,500 people disrupting the airport over the period of the camp for climate change, which is due to begin on Tuesday. The police have been told to use stop and search powers against the protesters, who have pledged to take direct action on August 18 and 19 but not to endanger life.
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"Should individuals or small groups seek to take action outside of lawful protest they will be dealt with robustly using terrorism powers. This is because the presence of large numbers of protesters at or near the airport will reduce our ability to proactively counter the terrorist act ," the document says.
The police report makes it clear that the government has encouraged police forces to make greater use of terrorism powers "especially the use of stop and search powers under s44 Terrorism Act 2000".
Pour vous donner une petite idée des pouvoirs en question:
The law gives police powers to:
· Stop and search people and vehicles for anything that could be used in connection with terrorism
· Search people even if they do not have evidence to suspect them
· Hold people for up to a month without charge
· Search homes and remove protesters' outer clothes, such as hats, shoes and coats.
Évidemment, j'en entends encore nous dire: "si vous avez rien à vous reprocher, ça ne vous concerne pas"...
Voici un cas tout récent, tout chaud:
The Guardian has established that at least two climate change campaigners have been arrested recently at Heathrow by officers using terrorism powers. Cristina Fraser, a student, was stopped when cycling near the airport with a friend and then charged under section 58 of the Terrorism Act. This makes it an offence to make a record of something that could be used in an act of terrorism.
"I was arrested and held in a police cell for 30 hours. I was terrified. No one knew where I was. They knew I was not a terrorist," she said.
Ms Fraser, a first-year London university anthropology student, has been on aviation demonstrations with the Plane Stupid campaign group, but claims she was carrying nothing at all. The police later recharged her with conspiring to cause a public nuisance.
Hmmm... Tourner autour de l'aéroport, c'est du terrorisme?! Please. Elle aurait très bien pu attendre un vol ou une amie ou peu importe. Elle a le droit d'y être et ils avaient rien contre elle. Il s'agit que d'un cas mais ce genre de trucs reviennent constamment.
