Police repression has reached a new level after direct action group Youth Demand’s welcome talk and a number of houses were raided last night and this morning. Nine people, including one attending their first meeting and a journalist were arrested.
Youth Demand: multiple raids across the UK
At around 7:30pm on Thursday 27 March, over 30 Met Police officers crashed into the Youth Demand Welcome Talk at the Quaker Meeting House in Westminster and arrested six people, including one attending their first ever welcome talk and a journalist.
Three people were released in the early hours of the morning but three remain in custody:
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Police said that they were arresting people for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
In a separate incident at around 8:00am on Friday 28 March, Youth Demand supporter Eddie Whittingham was arrested at his house in Exeter, but has been released without charge. Three other supporters were arrested at another location:
Then, at around 12:30pm cops raided another Youth Demand supporter’s home and arrested them.
The situation is ongoing:
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The Welcome Talk is an opportunity to share information about Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank and about the mass killing that is being imposed on marginalised people across the globe as a result of the accelerating climate crisis. It is also an opportunity to share plans for nonviolent civil resistance actions to take place in April:
@youth.demand 🚨SIX ARRESTED FOR SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN UNPRECEDENTED REPRESSION TO STOP US🚨 At 7:30pm yesterday, over 30 Metropolitan Police officers broke into a Welcome Talk at the Quaker Meeting House in Westminster and arrested six people, including one attending their ever event and a journalist. Police said that they were arresting people for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. This is how we know the state is scared of us telling the truth. We will not be intimidated. Only sustained mass resistance can put an end to genocide. This April we are taking action every week: join us at the rally to kick it all off on Tues 1st April @ 6:30pm on Malet Street in front of Senate House Library
Outrageous and repressive
One of those arrested last night and released this morning was Ella Grace-Taylor, 20, an actor musician student who said:
At this point, it couldn’t be clearer that we are in a police state. Our politicians will stand by as police engage in mass arrests and imprisonment of anyone who speaks out against the government for being responsible for genocide. By arming Israel and refusing to call what is happening a genocide, they are perpetrating mass slaughter. Hundreds of children were killed in Palestine in the last week.
We won’t stop saying it. We won’t be intimidated.
A Youth Demand spokesperson said:
It’s clear that the government sees Youth Demand as a threat. They know that we are right. There are thousands of young people who are horrified by what the government is doing to facilitate genocide and who know that they have been betrayed as their future is fucked. We will not be silenced. Young people all over the country are coming together to shut London down day after day throughout April.
We refuse to be ruled by liars, war criminals and arsonists. We will not let them get away with this. We refuse to be ignored. It’s time for young people to take to the streets day after day and shut London down.
Only sustained mass resistance can put an end to genocide. By standing together we can grind the murder machine to a standstill. It’s time to disrupt. Join us every week in April, starting with a rally next Tuesday 1 April, at 6:30pm on Malet Street in front of Senate House Library.
Then, there are more actions going on in London:
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You can sign up for action at youthdemand.org
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