Last year, it was a risk to demonstrate publicly against the UK monarchy: Jay Doubleyou: arresting anti-royalists
Some called this 'cancel culture': Jay Doubleyou: cancelling anti-royalists
It happened again today: Alliance of European Republican Movements on Twitter: "The organisers of the #notmyking protest have been arrested - police won’t say what for https://t.co/qu5JgNhCgF" / Twitter
Several anti-monarchy protesters were arrested in central London ahead of the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, their group has said, as the Metropolitan Police force faces scrutiny for its approach toward demonstrators at the historic event. 'Something out of a police state': Anti-monarchy protesters arre - KAKE
Scotland Yard has been accused of an “incredibly alarming” attack on the right to protest after police used new powers to arrest the head of the leading republican movement and other organisers of an approved demonstration just hours before King Charles III’s coronation. Police accused of ‘alarming’ attack on right to protest after anti-monarchist arrested | UK news | The Guardian
Footage showed Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy group Republic, being apprehended by police. Head of leading anti-monarchy group arrested at coronation protest
One of the first international media websites to report the story was the Saudi-government controlled Al Arabiya: Police arrest anti-monarchy protesters ahead of King Charles’ coronation | Al Arabiya English
And it's being carried by the Russian-government controlled Russia Today: Anti-monarchy protesters arrested in London — RT World News
It doesn't look very good: Anti-Charles Protester Arrests During Coronation Spark Fury: 'Police State'
The detentions prompted swift criticism from Human Rights Watch, which called the arrests “incredibly alarming. This is something you would expect to see in Moscow, not London,” the rights organisation’s UK director, Yasmine Ahmed, said in a statement. Peaceful protests allow individuals to hold those in power to account – something the UK government seems increasingly averse to.” Met Police say they 'police proportionately' following outcry over coronation arrests
“We all have the right to go about our lives without being watched and monitored, but everyone at the coronation is at risk of having their faces scanned by oppressive facial recognition technology,” Emmanuelle Andrews of human rights group Liberty, said on Twitter.
The operation comes amid growing concern over the increase in the police’s power to stifle dissent in Britain, following the recent introduction of controversial pieces of legislation. Last year, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 significantly “broaden[ed] the range of circumstances in which police may impose conditions on a protest.” Under the new Act, it is an offense for protesters to “intentionally or recklessly caus[e] public nuisance” – including causing “serious annoyance.”
In a statement to CNN, Liberty said this Act “has made it much harder for people to stand up for what they believe without facing the risk of criminalization.”
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