Tag: protests

New York mayor confers with White House ahead of expected Tyre Nichols protests

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With several demonstrations already in the works, Adams urged New Yorkers to express themselves peacefully.
“My message to New York is to respect the wishes of Mr. Nichols’ mother. If you need to express your anger and outrage, do so peacefully,” he said. “My message to the NYPD has been and will continue to be to exercise restraint.”
Adams said prior to his discussion with the White House, he convened a call with elected officials from across government to discuss the release of the footage.
One person familiar with the call said Police Chief Keechant Sewell urged restraint, with the aim of avoiding a repeat of the NYPD’s sometimes violent crackdown on the social justice protests of 2020. Several officials voiced support for reforms to the NYPD on the call, while Adams himself mentioned the potential for bad actors to exploit mass gatherings.
Adams came into office promising a balance between support for law enforcement and preventing overly aggressive policing that has historically afflicted communities of color. The protests planned for Friday evening could prove a major test of that balancing act.
“I have stated over and over again that we have a sacred covenant. Our officers must follow the law and be held accountable for their actions,” he said. “Otherwise there is no law.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 28, 2023
DOJ warns against protests turning violent ahead of Tyre Nichols footage release

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The officers were all fired from the department last week and have been charged with murder and other crimes related to the death of Nichols.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis told CNN Friday morning that the video shows “acts that defy humanity” and “a disregard for life” — namely, the officers using what she said was a group-think mentality to exert an “unexplainable” amount of aggression toward Nichols. She added the video is “about the same if not worse” than the graphic video of Los Angeles police officers brutally attacking Rodney King in 1991.
“I was outraged. It was incomprehensible to me. It was unconscionable, and I felt that I needed to do something and do something quickly,” Davis said. “I don’t think I’ve witnessed anything of that nature in my entire career.”
Garland on Friday said though he hasn’t seen the video, he’s been briefed on its contents and called it “deeply disturbing” and “horrific.” FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was also at the briefing, said he was “appalled” by the video.
“I have seen the video myself, and I will tell you I was appalled,” Wray said. “I’m struggling to find a stronger word, but I will just tell you I was appalled.”
Wray added that all of the FBI’s field offices have been alerted to work closely with their state and local partners, particularly in Memphis, “in the event of something getting out of hand” during protests over the weekend. U.S. Capitol Police have beefed up security on the Hill — with bike-rack style security fencing erected overnight — as police departments across the country are also bracing for protests related to the footage.
“There’s a right way and a wrong way in this country to express being upset or angry about something, and we need to make sure that if there is that sentiment expressed here, it’s done in the right way,” Wray said.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 27, 2023
Kemp declares state of emergency in Georgia over ‘Cop City’ protests

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Police allege that Manuel “Tortuguita” Teran, 26, shot first, although activists who were present during the raid dispute authorities’ version of events. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, the officers involved were not wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting.
Teran’s death sparked global protests against police violence, as activists held vigils from Akron, Ohio, to Kurdistan. Atlanta protests turned violent Saturday, with protesters throwing rocks at the skyscraper that houses the Atlanta Police Foundation and setting fire to a police cruiser.
In his State of the State address on Wednesday, Kemp decried the protesters as “out-of-state rioters” who “tried to bring violence to the streets of our capital city.” He said it was “just the latest example of why here in Georgia, we’ll always back the blue.”
Kemp called out the National Guard to guard the state Capitol, the governor’s mansion and other public facilities during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and kept them mobilized and providing security at the Capitol well into 2021.
Since the summer of 2021, Defend the Atlanta Forest protesters have engaged in extended tree-sits, rallies, and other forms of resistance against the development of over 380 acres of forest land to build a mock city and tactical training ground for police.
Standoffs between protesters and police have escalated recently, with protesters throwing Molotov cocktails at officers and police employing tear gas and rubber bullets to remove protesters from treehouse encampments. Since December, a dozen protesters have been charged with domestic terrorism under a state law that can carry up to a 35-year prison term.
Activists argue that the construction of the training complex would exacerbate police violence against the predominantly Black and brown communities in the county and perpetuate environmental racism due to chemical runoff from weapons testing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 27, 2023
U.S. hits Iran with fresh sanctions amid subsiding protests

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That said, Iran’s clerical leadership has managed to survive through decades of Western sanctions. And the protest movement appears to be subsiding as the Iranian government has cracked down, including with public executions.
U.S. officials said Iran’s human rights violations warranted a tough response from the international community.
“Along with our partners, we will continue to hold the Iranian regime accountable so long as it relies upon violence, sham trials, the execution of protestors, and other means of suppressing its people,” Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a news release.
The people sanctioned include: Naser Rashedi, the deputy minister; Hossein Tanavar, the IRGC commander in the city of Qom; Mohammad Nazar Azimi, the IRGC commander of the West Region Headquarters in Kermanshah; Kourosh Asiabani, the IRGC deputy commander of the West Region; and Mojtaba Fada, the IRGC commander in Isfahan Province.
The U.S. sanctions are being imposed under legal categories related to human rights. According to the State Department, the IRGC Cooperative Foundation also has previously been designated under counterproliferation and counterterrorism authorities.
The demonstrations erupted across Iran last September after the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman taken into custody and allegedly beaten over claims she wasn’t properly following Iran’s Islamist-infused dress code, which requires that women cover their hair.
The Iranian government has sentenced some protesters to death and carried out a handful of public executions, including leaving the accused’s bodies hanging from cranes.
The executions may have had a chilling effect as the street rallies appear to have subsided significantly, according to analysts and media reports. The protests do persist in some corners, however, including Zahedan, the capital of Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 23, 2023
Cong to stage protests during peak traffic hours in Bangalore, police deny permission

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Bengaluru: The Congress on Monday will stage silent protests during the peak traffic hours at 300 locations across the state capital to demand the eradication of corruption to ‘save’ Bengaluru.
The police department has refused to give permission for the protest. Congress party sources stated that the party will go ahead with its protest plan.
The protest will be staged at 51 metro stations, 26 flyovers and 200 traffic signals. The party has said that they will not create any trouble for the passengers, vehicle riders and drivers during their morning rush hours through the protest.
“The Congress workers are going to hold placards against the ruling BJP and stage protests. The party wants to give a message and create awareness among people to save Bengaluru and also save the state,” Congress MLA N.A. Harris stated.
The police department has given directions to jurisdictional DCP’s to take action against the Congress leaders. The department has deputed 5,000 policemen to monitor and control the situation.
Police sources said that the protest was expected to cause traffic jams across the city and they have got orders to detain the Congress leaders.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 23, 2023
Dozens injured and police stations attacked as protests continue in Peru

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Dozens of Peruvians were injured when tensions flared again on Friday night as police clashed with protesters in anti-government demonstrations that are spreading across the country.
In the capital, Lima, police officers used teargas to repel demonstrators throwing glass bottles and stones, as fires burned in the streets, TV footage showed.
In the southern Puno region about 1,500 protesters attacked a police station in the town of Ilave, said the interior minister, Vicente Romero. A police station in Zepita, Puno, was also on fire, he said.
Health authorities in Ilave reported eight patients hospitalised with injuries, including broken arms and legs, eye contusions and punctured abdomens.
By late afternoon, 58 people had been injured nationwide in demonstrations, according to a report from Peru’s ombudsman.
Teargas fired at Peru protesters as thousands try to ‘take Lima’ – video report
The unrest followed a day of turmoil on Thursday, when one of Lima’s most historic buildings burned to the ground, as President Dina Boluarte vowed to get tougher on “vandals”.
The destruction of the building, a near-century-old mansion in central Lima, was described by officials as the loss of a “monumental asset”. Authorities are investigating the causes.
Romero on Friday claimed the blaze was “duly planned and arranged”.

Thousands of protesters descended on Lima this week calling for change and angered by the protests’ mounting death toll, which officially stood at 45 on Friday.
At the beginning of the Friday’s protests, the demonstrators seemed more organised than the previous day and they took over key roads in downtown Lima.
Police appeared more combative than the day before and after standing watch over protesters that had been blocked into downtown streets, they started firing volleys of teargas.
Firefighters work outside a historic mansion devastated by fire during the protests in downtown Lima. Photograph: Paolo Aguilar/EPA
Protests have rocked Peru since Pedro Castillo was ousted as president in December after he attempted to dissolve the legislature to prevent an impeachment vote.
Boluarte has dismissed calls for her to resign and hold snap elections, instead calling for dialogue and promising to punish those involved in the unrest.
In the Cusco region, Glencore’s major Antapaccay copper mine suspended operations on Friday after protesters attacked the premises – one of the largest in the country – for the third time this month.
With Reuters and Associated Press
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

January 21, 2023