The occupants of a disused building in Glasgow that was reopened to offer emergency accommodation for climate activists have accused police of trying to break into the site with a battering ram and batons drawn early on Monday morning.
The activists at Baile Hoose, a former homeless shelter in the Tradeston district, said up to 20 officers from the Metropolitan police and Welsh forces mounted the raid at 3am, claiming to be acting under orders from Scottish police.
Police criticised over raid on Glasgow squat housing Cop26 activists | Glasgow | The Guardian
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/11/cop26-police-tactics-creating-atmosphere-of-fear-protesters-say
first-hand accounts from activists across Glasgow, have reported:
Being threatened with arrest for unfurling a banner at a train station.
One activist operating in a police liaison capacity was given an identifying blue bib to wear by organisers, but later had it confiscated by a police officer and was threatened with arrest for impersonating a police officer.
The organiser at an activists’ campsite was threatened with arrest for “child neglect” after an officer witnessed families asking whether they could stay there.
Police vans driving past the site in the early hours blasting an air horn and shining a spotlight with the apparent intention of disturbing sleep.
One activist was reduced to tears after being followed into a men’s toilets by three officers.
Kat Hobbs, of the Network for Police Monitoring, said: “Police Scotland seem to have gone for a saturation approach to policing the Cop26 protests, and with so many officers and little for them to do, reports are flooding in of police intimidation, harassment and aggression. All of these small incidents add up to create an atmosphere of fear and repression, and have a chilling effect on the right to protest.”
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