[Onthebarricades] Repression news, global North, Dec-Jan 07/08

[Andy]

NOTES:  Notice in the Australian case (the "Cronulla" powers) a fascistic 
rhetoric of "drawing a line in the sand" which in reality means drawing a 
line AGAINST basic liberties and FOR pointless crackdowns.  And also a 
politically-motivated attempt to drag out G20 trials, with G20 police - 
hardly peaceful themselves - whining about injuries.  Disguises indicate 
planning?  Indicate CAUTION is closer to the truth.  Why are such stupid 
things claimed about protesters, when police can go around in armour with 
weapons and not be accused of "planning violence"?

Regarding the immigration case in Britain; I found the following address 
online for the Ama Sumani appeal:
Xquisite Africa
148 City Road
Cardiff, CF24 3DR


*  AUSTRALIA:  New government wants to ramp up unrest penalties after 
Christmas events
*  US:  Students complain about being punished for peace protest
*  US:  Doctor acquitted over bogus arrest for treating injured protester
*  US:  California court upholds right to protest in malls; defies common US 
ban
*  NEW ZEALAND:  Police breached rights during Chinese visit, court decides, 
but lets them off anyway
*  AUSTRALIA:  Fascistic "anti-riot" laws, such as police roadblocks and 
stop-and-search, to stay despite expiry and government change
*  UK:  Still vindictive many years on, 200th Bradford insurgent jailed in 
biggest ever dissident roundup
*  FRANCE:  Taser chief plans flying shockbot
*  UK:  Desperately ill woman deported despite humanitarian protests
*  US:  Inmate given life sentence for fighting guards during uprising
*  ITALY:  Vindictive conviction of Genoa protesters includes 11-year 
sentence; protesters pledge "no regrets"
*  AUSTRALIA:  Police steal van in protest "exclusion zone"
*  UK:  Prisoners sentenced for uprising
*  SPAIN:  "Riot police smashed open our friend's head"
*  AUSTRALIA:  Political attempt to stretch out G20 prosecutions
*  CANADA:  Undercover cop hit riot squad officers at Montebello summit 
protest

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2007/12/29/2964_ntnews.html

Riot penalties increased after town locked down

NIGEL ADLAM

29Dec07

PENALTIES for violent disorder are to be doubled following a spate of 
Christmas riots at a remote Territory community.

Chief Minister Paul Henderson flew to Wadeye, 250km southwest of Darwin, 
yesterday to speak to police on the ground.

He later announced that the punishment for rioting would be increased from 
12 months' jail to two years.

The NT Government will also look at other measures to deal with repeat 
offenders.

The community was wracked by rioting on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Large gangs of young men, many of them armed, had to be dispersed by police 
after gathering near the store in Main Street.

No injuries have been reported.

Mr Henderson told the Northern Territory News the community council and 
elders had a genuine commitment to end the violence.

He said the council was disappointed that the community was suffering 
disorder despite big improvements in housing and education.

"A line is being drawn in the sand - this kind of behaviour is totally 
unacceptable," he said.

Police are expected to make a string of arrests in Wadeye over the next few 
days.

Three men have already been arrested and charged with going armed in public, 
disorderly behaviour and engaging in violent conduct.

Three additional police officers have been deployed to the community from 
Peppimenarti.

More officers were expected to arrive last night.

Police said they had drawn up an "arrest plan".

It is believed police want to beef up their numbers in case there is trouble 
when they move in to make arrests.

Mr Henderson said the situation was under control and people had returned to 
their homes.

He said rioters would "face the full force of the law".

The Chief Minister congratulated police for their handling of the trouble.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/us/07protest.html?_r=1&ref=education&oref=slogin

Students Call Protest Punishment Too Harsh
CHICAGO, Nov. 6 - A school superintendent's decision to suspend, and perhaps 
expel, about two dozen students who took part in a protest against the Iraq 
war at a suburban high school drew criticism Tuesday from the students and 
their parents, who demanded that their children be allowed to return to 
classes.
In a statement issued after the protest on Thursday at Morton West High 
School in Berwyn, a working-class suburb just west of Chicago, the district 
superintendent, Ben Nowakowski, said the school's reaction had to do only 
with the interruption of the school day, not with the students expressing 
themselves.
The administration "did not say that the students could not protest," Dr. 
Nowakowski's statement said. "Rather, we asked that the students simply move 
their protest to an area of the school that would not disrupt the ability of 
the other 3,400-plus students at Morton West to proceed with their normal 
school day."
Dr. Nowakowski did not return repeated calls seeking comment Tuesday.
But several students said the protesters, whose numbers had dwindled to 
about 25, obeyed the administration's request to move from a high-traffic 
area in the cafeteria to a less-crowded hall near the principal's office. 
There, they intertwined arms, sang along to an acoustic guitar and talked 
about how the war was affecting the world, said Matt Heffernan, a junior who 
took part.
"We agreed to move to another side of the building," Matt said. "We also 
made a deal that if we moved there, there would be no disciplinary action 
taken upon us."
Matt said the group had been told that the most severe punishment would be a 
Saturday detention for cutting class that day.
Police officers were on the scene, and Berwyn's police chief, William 
Kushner, said no arrests were made. "It was all very peaceful and orderly," 
he said.
But at the end of the school day, Matt said, Dr. Nowakowski gave the 
remaining protesters disciplinary notices stating that they had engaged in 
mob action, that they were suspended for 10 days and that they faced 
expulsion.
"I was shocked," said Matt, 16. "We had the sit-in. So I had mixed feelings 
of confidence - of a job well done - and fright, because my whole 
educational future is at risk."
School officials also sent a letter to the parents of all the school's 
students calling the protest "gross disobedience" and reminding parents that 
any disruption to the educational process could lead to expulsion.
On Tuesday, a group of parents went to the school to demand that their 
children be allowed to return to classes. At most, the parents said, the 
protesters' behavior amounted to loitering, which should be punishable by 
detention or a meeting with a guidance counselor.
The parents have also asked that the district provide the students with some 
way to express themselves about issues like the war.
"Who's the next group to go off to war?" said Adam Szwarek, whose 
16-year-old son, Adam, faces expulsion. "These kids. The kids do a peaceful 
sit-in and they're threatened with expulsion, yet the military's running 
around the school trying to recruit."
Parents also complained that deans, teachers and coaches singled out certain 
athletes and honor students and persuaded them to drop out of the protest.
Rita Maniotis, president of the school's parent-teacher organization, said 
the school called her husband to say that their daughter, Barbara, a junior, 
was participating in the protest and that he should come to get her. He did 
so, and she was suspended for five days. But other parents were not called 
and not able to intervene, Ms. Maniotis said. "There's no rhyme or reason to 
the punishment doled out," she said.
The executive director of the A.C.L.U. of Illinois, Colleen K. Connell, said 
she could not comment on the case because her organization was investigating 
to determine whether it will take it up. In general, public school students 
have constitutional rights, she said, but they can be limited in a school 
setting.

http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-25/119678108571540.xml&coll=2

Doctor at protest acquitted
Physician had been charged with interfering with police at U-M
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
BY GEOFF LARCOM
The Ann Arbor News
An Ann Arbor physician was acquitted by a Washtenaw County jury Monday night 
of misdemeanor criminal charges accusing her of attempting to impede police 
and emergency medical technicians at a campus disturbance last year.
In closing arguments Monday, Dr. Catherine Wilkerson's attorney, Hugh Davis, 
had argued she was simply trying to help a man she believed was at risk of 
dying.
Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor Margaret Connors painted Wilkerson as 
a political activist who ignored repeated orders from police and medical 
personnel as they tried to treat protester Blaine Coleman.
The differing versions of what happened during a protest at a campus speech 
last year were presented during closing arguments in 15th District Court 
Monday. The jury debated more than four hours before issuing its verdict.
Wilkerson could not be reached for comment this morning.
Bill Tanner, a co-counsel for Wilkerson, this morning said her testimony on 
the stand was a pivotal moment.
"She's happy,'' he said. "She's ecstatic. She feels vindicated and she is 
grateful to the jurors who did their job.''
Wilkerson had been on trial since last week, facing two misdemeanor counts 
of attempting to impede police and emergency medical technicians.
"You're at the risk of criminalizing free speech and protest ... along with 
the act of medical personnel trying to help fellow citizens,'' Wilkerson's 
lawyer, Hugh Davis, told the jury.
Connors cited what she described as "sarcastic, mocking, ridiculing'' 
behavior by Wilkerson, saying the doctor egged on the crowd as medical 
personnel attended to Coleman.
In her concluding remarks, Connors stood by a written list of charges 
against Wilkerson and made nearly two dozen check marks by the word 
"obstruct.''
Before that, Davis dramatically checked off his points on a legal pad as he 
spoke at length to the jury.
"I just can't imagine where it ends if you can criminalize this kind of 
speech and an altruistic act by a doctor,'' Davis said.
One of the questions raised involved medical personnel using ammonia on 
Coleman. Davis said ammonia was used "punitively,'' and Wilkerson was 
reacting to that.
The jury was given instructions by Judge Elizabeth Hines around 4 p.m. and 
came back with the verdict around 8:30 p.m.
The incident occurred Nov. 30, 2006, when protesters disrupted a lecture on 
U.S. foreign policy in Iran, held at the Michigan League. The protesters 
came to the League to oppose Raymond Tanter, a professor emeritus at U-M who 
served on the senior staff of the National Security Council during the 
Reagan administration.
Coleman, who regularly protests on behalf of the Palestinian cause, was 
treated that night for a cut to his forehead. He was charged with resisting 
a police officer and pleaded guilty. He was fined $395 and sentenced to 
probation.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-boycotts25dec25,1,2329502.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=2&cset=true

Court upholds protest at mall
Justices split 4 to 3 in opposing rules based on the content of a union's 
protected free speech.
By Tami Abdollah, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 25, 2007
The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that shopping malls cannot stop 
protesters from urging a public boycott of the stores, even if the 
demonstrators are on mall property.

The 4-3 decision upholds a 27-year precedent protecting free speech rights 
at shopping centers, even if the malls are privately owned.

The case started in 1998, when the pressroom union was embroiled in a 
contract dispute with the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. Thirty to 40 
union members stood in front of a Robinsons-May store, one of the 
newspaper's biggest advertisers, cataloging their grievances and urging 
customers to contact the chief executive of the newspaper.

Officials at the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego told the protesters to 
leave, saying that if they wanted to resume their demonstration, they would 
have to sign a pledge not to urge a boycott of any store because it would 
hurt business.

Justice Carlos R. Moreno, writing for the majority, agreed that the mall 
could regulate protests but said the state's Constitution barred mall rules 
for protesters based on the content of their message.

"They may not prohibit certain types of speech based upon its content, such 
as prohibiting speech that urges a boycott of one or more of the stores in 
the mall," Moreno said in the ruling. Chief Justice Ronald M. George and 
Justices Joyce L. Kennard and Kathryn Mickle Werdegar joined in the 
decision.

In dissent, Justice Ming W. Chin protested that the court was treating 
private property as a "public free speech zone."

"A shopping center exists for the individual businesses on the premises to 
do business," he wrote. "Urging a boycott of those businesses contradicts 
the very purpose of the shopping center's existence." Chin's opinion was 
joined by Justices Marvin R. Baxter and Carol A. Corrigan.

"The only tradition that is relevant to this case is the tradition followed 
in most of the country, of finding no free speech rights on private 
property," Chin wrote.

"The majority is trampling on tradition, not following it," he added.

Eugene Volokh, a constitutional law professor at UCLA, said California and a 
few other states back free speech at large malls on the theory that they 
function as modern-day town squares.

"That's where people congregate these days, and that's where it's important 
that free speech be protected," he said.

Thomas Leanse, a lawyer who argued the case on behalf of the International 
Council of Shopping Centers and the California Business Properties Assn., 
called the ruling "incremental," saying it affects only boycott campaigns 
and otherwise affirms the mall's right to enforce its rules.

Volokh said the case raises a question whether the state high court intends 
to protect all mall demonstrations, even those infused with religious or 
racial bias.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/1455164

Police breached protesters' rights
Nov 20, 2007 7:36 PM

A Police Complaints Authority report has concluded that no one should be 
held accountable for breaching the rights of protesters during a visit to 
Wellington by Chinese President Jiang Zemin in 1999.
The authority has just released its report into two incidents.
In the first, police were criticised for standing in front of two women who 
were trying to protest on a traffic island as President Jiang's motorcade 
passed by.
In the second, a group of around 20 protesters near the President's hotel 
were moved about 100 metres away.
Five protestors who stood their ground were arrested, but were later paid 
damages.
The report concludes that while the rights of the protesters should have 
been upheld by police, it is not appropriate to hold any individual officer 
responsible.
Friends of Tibet spokesman Thuten Kesang says despite the report saying no 
one should be held to account, he is pleased with the outcome.
Kesang says police must remember protesters are allowed to be seen by 
demonstrating by their targets.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sun-sets-on-twoyear-expiry-but-cronulla-riot-laws-to-stay/2007/11/13/1194766675272.html

Sun sets on two-year expiry, but Cronulla riot laws to stay
Andrew Clennell State Political Editor
November 14, 2007
LAWS introduced after the Cronulla riots, which enable police to close 
streets with roadblocks; stop and search people and cars, and close pubs 
will be made permanent and expanded.
The laws had been due to expire when a two-year sunset clause ran out in 
December, but the Premier, Morris Iemma, told Parliament yesterday they 
would be extended.
The powers have been used four times and have not been needed since March 
last year.
"These powers were due to sunset in December, but following a review by the 
Ombudsman, will remain in place," Mr Iemma told the Parliament.
"We'll also go further and introduce additional powers, giving police the 
ability to stop vehicles and people who gather in an area which may be some 
distance from a riot and are suspected of planning to join in the unrest."
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties last night accused the Government of 
"lying" when it said it was introducing the laws for two years. The 
council's president, Cameron Murphy, said. "At the time they told us these 
powers were extreme but necessary in order to deal with the riots at 
Cronulla. There are too many extreme laws giving powers to the police and 
intelligence officers."
Mr Iemma's announcement came after the Ombudsman's review found the powers 
had only been used on four occasions although they had been considered by 
police on other occasions. The powers were used hours after the laws 
concerning them were passed on December 15, 2005, to establish roadblocks on 
the roads into the Sutherland area to stop revenge attacks after the 
Cronulla riots.
They were also used the following weekend as part of Operation SETA when 
police set up more than 80 roadblocks to protect areas "at risk" of "racist 
violence". The powers have also been used during riots on the Gordon Estate 
in Dubbo in January last year and in March last year after a large gathering 
of Middle Eastern Australian men at a park at Brighton-Le-Sands, in Sydney's 
south.
The Government accepted most recommendations from the Ombudsman, Bruce 
Barbour, but declined to follow a recommendation that the legislation be 
changed so that there be a "reasonable suspicion" test for any searches of 
people under the powers. The Ombudsman also recommended that the Police 
Commissioner report annually on the use of the powers, which the Government 
did not accept.
Mr Barbour, who was informed by the media of the Government's announcement, 
found that on the four occasions the powers were used, they were used 
appropriately by police. But he said the laws should "require officers to 
have a proper basis for searches of persons".
"Until the powers are used in a range of circumstances, we cannot be 
confident about their likely effectiveness or shortcomings . there should be 
detailed annual reporting and some form of ongoing independent scrutiny."

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/200th-Bradford-rioter-is-jailed.3614912.jp

200th Bradford rioter is jailed

A police videograb of the last remaining riot suspect, Mohammed Sheikh

A man today became the 200th and last person to be jailed in connection with 
the 2001 Bradford riots.
Mohammed Sheikh, 33, from Ealing, London, was sentenced to two and a half 
years for riot at Bradford Crown Court after he earlier admitted his 
involvement in the violence six years ago.

The riots on 7 July 2001 sparked an unprecedented police investigation, with 
297 arrests, 187 people charged with riot, 45 charges of violent disorder 
and 200 jail sentences totalling 604 years.

Of all the cases that came to court, only one person was acquitted.

More than 1,000 police officers and support staff were involved on the night 
of the violence and nine police forces sent assistance.

More than 300 officers were injured and the estimated damage was between 
£7.5 million and £10 million.

Today, the court heard that Sheikh watched the violence for half an hour in 
crowds where petrol bombs were being thrown. He then threw stones and bricks 
at the police lines.

Sheikh was identified in 2004 as a result of a 10-month police poster 
campaign, which urged the public to name people wanted in connection with 
the riots.

He gave himself up to police and pleaded guilty to his part in the riots at 
Bradford Crown Court last month.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Superintendent Max Mclean, 
Head of Crime at West Yorkshire Police, said: "In respect of the events of 7 
July 2001, the police, like the Asian community, did not want right wing 
agitators coming into the city and had indeed banned a march and turned away 
known trouble-makers from Bradford. So it was a source of some sadness and 
frustration to us that events unfolded as they did.

"It was a pointless act of self-destruction for Bradford citizens."
Mr Mclean praised the investigating teams and the West Yorkshire Crown 
Prosecution Service for their work on Operation Wheel.

He said: "This was an exceptional example of a complex investigation and 
it's a tribute
to the investigators working under my command that we arrested and convicted 
so many of those intent on causing mayhem that night.

"Our investigative strategy was to try and identify as many of the rioters 
as possible and bring them to justice and obviously we've achieved that with 
nearly 300 arrests and convictions.

"We made use of technology and we put some investigative procedures in place 
that are commonplace now but had never been used before then."

He added: "It is unprecedented in English legal history in that the next 
highest figure in the UK for people convicted together for riot is five for 
an investigation in London."

Mr Mclean said Bradford had moved on since the riots and civic pride was now 
being restored.

"There has been no large scale public disorder again in Bradford and we're 
hoping that remains the case for the foreseeable future," he said.

Last Updated: 21 December 2007 5:00 PM

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/30/french-taser-chief-hints-at-flying-shockbot/

French Taser chief hints at flying shockbot
Posted Nov 30th 2007 10:37AM by Joshua Topolsky
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
According to a recent report, the French head of stun-gun maker Taser has 
plans to create a "mini-flying saucer like drone which could also fire Taser 
stun rounds on criminal suspects or rioting crowds." Antoine di Zazzo, 
fervent proselytizer of the electroshock weapon, is cutting through the is / 
isn't torture noise of recent UN reports with the news that the non-lethal 
device is about to make a serious splash in France, with president Nicolas 
Sarkozy promising to hand one to every policeman and gendarme. Of course, 
once di Zazzo's army of tiny, hovering stun machines take to the air --  
sometime next year -- the police probably won't have to worry about 
brandishing their weapons.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7189137.stm

Last Updated: Tuesday, 15 January 2008, 15:34 GMT

'No U-turn' in cancer woman row
The UK government has said it will not reconsider its decision to remove a 
terminally ill African woman, whose visa had expired.
Ama Sumani, 39, who has cancer, was sent back to Ghana from Cardiff last 
week but cannot afford kidney dialysis treatment to prolong her life.
The Lancet medical journal had called the decision "atrocious barbarism".
But the head of the Border and Immigration Agency told MPs it did not stand 
out from other difficult cases.
Lin Homer, the agency's chief executive, told the Home Affairs Select 
Committee: "I think it is difficult to see the circumstances in which this 
case stands out from the many very difficult cases we consider."
During questioning by MPs, Ms Homer said the decision was backed up by 
previous rulings in the domestic courts, the House of Lords and the European 
Court in Strasbourg.
She argued it was not cruel or inhumane treatment because many countries did 
not have the same high quality of medical care as the UK.
Ms Homer also denied ministers has personally considered the case.
She added she felt "deep personal sympathy" for claimaints in "challenging 
circumstances".
"We see many cases where the medical prognosis for an individual would be 
far less good in the home country."
But committee member Gwyn Prosser said: "Many people would believe that this 
case is exceptional. If it's not exceptional, good God, what is?"
Ms Sumani, a 39-year-old widow and mother-of-two, had been receiving 
dialysis at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff for more than a year 
after cancer damaged her kidneys.
She came to the UK five years ago to become a student but began working in 
contravention of her of visa regulations. Her visa has since expired.
Ms Sumani developed malignant myeloma, a cancer affecting the bone marrow, 
while living in Cardiff.
She was taken from hospital by immigration officers on 9 January and 
accompanied to Accra, Ghana's capital.
Since then Ms Sumani has been trying to get onto a dialysis machine but she 
said the main hospital in Accra had asked for the equivalent of about $6,000 
(£3,060) to cover her sessions for the next three months.
The Lancet earlier called on doctors' leaders to voice their opposition to 
Ms Sumani's treatment.

The UK government says access to treatment is a matter for Ghana
The journal's editorial piece reads: "The UK has committed an atrocious 
barbarism.
"It is time for doctors' leaders to say so - forcefully and 
uncompromisingly."
It also published a petition signed by 276 doctors calling on the government 
to reject proposed regulations that would abolish the right of failed asylum 
seekers to seek medical help in Britain through the National Health Service 
(NHS).
Ahead of the Commons home affairs committee session, its chair Keith Vaz 
told BBC Radio Wales: "We know that there have to be rules governing 
immigration, we also know those who break rules have to be returned, but 
there is also a question of ministerial discretion.
"This is a compassionate government that needs to act on occasion in a 
compassionate way, while being extremely tough and ensuring the rules are 
upheld."
"We understand her health is deteriorating, that is not a proper use of 
immigration powers in my view.
"It is far better to remove someone that is able bodied than someone who is 
very sick and receiving treatment."

http://theghanaianjournal.com/2008/01/13/uk-government-under-pressure-to-return-ama-to-wales/

UK government under pressure to return Ama to Wales
By Samuel Ampah
A media organisation in Wales, Wales on Sunday has asked Prime Minister 
Gordon Brown to personally intervene in the case of Ghanaian cancer victim 
Ama Sumani.
The terminally ill widow was taken from her hospital bed in Cardiff on 
Wednesday and flown to an uncertain fate in Ghana by Borders and Immigration 
officials.
According to Wales on Sunday, "Officials at Number 10 refused to involve the 
PM when we contacted them by phone, saying: "This is a matter for the Home 
Office."
But the publication says it has followed up on the initial call by sending 
an e-mail direct to the Prime Minister asking him to intervene on Ama's 
behalf.
Criticism of UK immigration authorities was raging across the world Saturday 
over the treatment of 39-year-old Ama, who had been receiving vital kidney 
dialysis three times a week for the past year at the University Hospital of 
Wales in Cardiff.
And last Saturday night senior members of the Catholic church added their 
voice to the protest.
Canon Robert Reardon, of the Cardiff Arch Diocese, said: "This is a very 
disturbing story. There's been an absence of compassion, an absence of 
treating a person with dignity.
"I know that Ms Sumani had overstayed her visa - but given the severity of 
her illness - and the stage of treatment she was at, what has happened to 
her in the past few days is totally lacking in compassion."
Frankie Asare-Donkoh, president of the Ghana Union of Wales who is also a 
journalist and a former employee of the 'Daily Graphic', said: "It's really 
unbelievable that a citizen of the Commonwealth has been dragged from her 
hospital bed and treated in this way.
"What has happened to this country? Where are its Christian values?"
Cardiff University PhD student Mr Asare-Donkoh, 37, told Wales on Sunday 
that he had first written to the Home Office in April 2006 about Ama and her 
plight. To date, they have not even replied.
Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary 
Kidney Group, said: "I am appalled by the callous conduct of the Home 
Office. This woman - who is terminally ill anyway - needs regular dialysis 
to stay alive.
"If the Home Office is willing to pay £3,000 for treatment plus thousands 
more pounds for her removal, they may as well have paid for her treatment 
here at least until they had confirmed that she would get treatment in 
Ghana."
Dr Harris, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, continued: "This shows the 
Government at its most amoral, no doubt arguing that if they don't act tough 
then other people will deliberately develop fatal kidney failure in order to 
evade immigration control."
Now Ms Sumani's friend and supporter Janet Simmons is hoping that Cardiff's 
wealthy church authorities will offer financial aid to ease devout Catholic 
Ama's suffering and provide some security for her two children.
"We want to raise as much money as we can to help Ama's children in 
particular," said Mrs Simmons, who runs the Xquisite Africa shop in City 
Road, Cardiff.
And last night Canon Reardon offered hope that something might be arranged.
"We are very sympathetic to Ama's plight," said Canon Reardon.
"But we will want to know exactly what we are being asked for - and to make 
sure that all the right systems are in place for getting aid out to Ghana 
before we can make any firm commitment to financial help for Ama."
Ms Sumani has been seen at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana's capital 
city, Accra, earlier this week but was asked for the equivalent of £3,060 to 
pay for dialysis for the next three months.
Initial laboratory tests conducted on her showed negative results. According 
to hospital authorities, further tests are required before any specific 
treatment could be carried on her.
The mother-of-two, who had come to the UK to study accountancy, was 
diagnosed with cancer a year ago.
She suffers from malignant myeloma but, as a foreign national, is not 
entitled to a bone marrow transplant.
"Only a miracle will save her now - but we have faith and sometimes miracles 
do happen," said Janet.
Kidney dialysis facilities are available in just two hospitals in Ghana, the 
Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, Accra and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in 
Kumasi.
But widow Ama, whose home is hundreds of miles from her nearest dialysis 
centre, says she cannot afford to pay the weekly $2,100 US dollars medical 
bill such treatment would run up - even if she could get there.
If Ama does not receive regular dialysis she could be dead within weeks, 
according to her friends.
That would leave her seven-year-old son, Sameb, and daughter, Mary, 15, 
orphans.
"I am realistic," said Ms Simmons. "The care that Ama received at the 
University Hospital Wales was excellent.
"Then, we saw Great Britain at its best.
"I know there have to be rules. But also I believe there has to be 
flexibility, in accordance with the circumstances of individual patients, 
like Ama. But Ama is one hell of a woman.
"She has accepted her fate with dignity and through her Catholic faith is 
still hopeful that a miracle will happen."
But Mrs Simmons, who first established a support network for Wales' Ghanaian 
community using her shop as a base in 2002, said the main concern was for 
Ama's children.
"If Ama falls sick then her daughter Mary will have no option but to leave 
school to care for her dying mother," she said.
"And the boy will not be able to continue his education at all without money 
to back him. We are going to do our very best to secure their futures."
Mrs Simmons, who moved to the UK from Ghana in 1981, said she had known Ama 
for four years.
"Ama had originally moved to the UK to study accountancy in London," she 
said. "She was told that her English was not good enough for her to continue 
on the course. She refused to be defeated and worked as a cleaner while 
trying to improve her English at night school."
In 2006, Ama faced her first big blow when her husband, who had remained in 
Ghana to look after the couple's two children, suddenly died.
"Ama returned to Ghana to arrange for her children to be cared for by 
members of her Catholic Church in Koforidua, before coming back to her 
rented room in Grangetown to continue her studies."
But after collapsing at home, Ama was rushed to UHW in Cardiff, where she 
was diagnosed with malignant myeloma, which has damaged her kidneys.
"We Ghanaians pride ourselves on being citizens of the Commonwealth," said 
Mr Asare-Donkoh, who lives in Cardiff with his wife and five children. "We 
will continue to protest and to write to the authorities about Ama until the 
situation changes for the better."
Source: walesonsunday

http://www.wtvynews4.com/news/headlines/13719867.html

Inmate Charged in Riot Sentence to Life in Prison          Save Email Print

Posted: 6:11 PM Jan 11, 2008
Last Updated: 6:11 PM Jan 11, 2008

An Ozark man was sentenced to life in prison without parole after taking 
part in a jail riot in May.

24-year old Katoni Tellis was sentenced to life in prison for attempted 
murder.

Tellis beat and seriously injured two jailers at the Dale County Jail during 
the riot.

He was also convicted of criminal mischief, escape and assaulting an inmate, 
which earned him another 75 years behind bars.

http://www.supportolegale.org/?q=node/1271

[press release] In any case, no regret.
The sentence of the trial against the 25 demonstrators for the Genoa g8 
riots has fixed the price to pay for expressing our own ideas and going 
against the actual state of things: 110 years of jail. The tribunal, formed 
by chief judge Devoto and two associate judges Gatti and Realiani, was not 
brave enough to oppose to the savage reconstruction of the collective 
history towards the power that the public prosecutors Andrea Canciani e Anna 
Canepa asked to guarantee.
On the contrary it did even worse. It chose to sentence that there is a good 
and a bad way to express our own dissent, that there are tolerable ways to 
protest and ways that should be punished as if they were a war crime.
To top it all, the Court has also given a consolation prize to the defence 
lawyers and to all the "honest citizens": the files on the false statements 
given by two Carabinieri (military police) and two policemen will be the 
start of an investigation, a sweetener that does not mitigate the importance 
of the sentence and a pittance that we strongly reject.
The Genoa court has decided to support all those political forces, all those 
conventional thinkers, all those lawyers that - consciously - hoped that a 
few, even less that the 25 defendants, would be condemned to drew a sigh of 
relief, to point their finger dripping with morals and guilty conscience.
The use of devastation and sacking as a crime to condemn facts occurred 
during a political demo opens the way to a dangerous operation, that would 
like to see people motionless to the choices of those who govern, 
defenceless to the daily abuses of power from a system in deep democratic 
crisis, even befor economical one. None of those who where in Genoa in 2001 
and that have build their careers on the Genoa slogans (and have later 
betrayed them all with any possible vote or action), has rised against this 
absurd and opportunist operation: almost nobody from the whole 
center-left-wing coalition has found time enough to state that today not 
only 24 people, but all the demostrators have been convicted to years of 
jail.
The same thing has happened inside large parts of the movement, with a lot 
of people trying to sabotage the messages of the demo that only three weeks 
ago has filled the streets of Genoa. They created confusion about who was 
fighting for a different life and society and who was protecting the actual 
state of things, maybe because their dignity is confused too. So, many words 
were said and written about a possible parliamentary committee of enquiry, 
about Truth and Justice, yet too few words about those 25 people who were 
going to be the scapegoats of a scared power.
Yet Genoa can't be erased with an act of revisionism by the Court, nor with 
hypocritical and opportunistic choices and skeletons hidden in the cupboard. 
The 80.0000 people that last November, 17th have marched in Genoa were not 
asking for a parliamentary committee of enquiry; they wanted to state loud 
and clear that 25 people can't shield an inconvenient historical passage 
that questioned so strongly our lifestyle and society. We believe that those 
80.000 people are listening to us and will not let a Court expropriate their 
memory and devastate the lives of 24 people.
This sentence tries to overwhelm us and make us feel ashamed of what we 
where and lived, giving a dim view of moments of riot that instead deserve 
the light and dignity of moments of popular will; but we will not apologize 
for anything, because we have nothing to repent and we consider Genoa 2001 
the highest moment of our political lives.
We believe that all of those who were in Genoa should scream: in any case, 
no regret. No regret for the streets taken from the rebels, no regret for 
the terror of the G8 closed inside the red zone, no regret for the 
barricades, for the broken windows, for the foam-rubber protections, for the 
plexiglass shields, for the black dresses, for the white hands, for the pink 
dances, no regret for the resolution we questioned the power for some days.
We said it the day after Genoa, and during all those years: memory is a 
collective gear that can't be saboted. And we will feel no regret for what 
Genoa was and meant for us.
Today, like yesterday or tomorrow, we say again: in any case, no regret.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/28/2103778.htm

Owners of confiscated protest van sought
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:48pm AEDT
Updated Wed Nov 28, 2007 1:54pm AEDT

The unregistered panel van Forestry Tasmania recently confiscated from 
protesters. (ABC News: Mark Smith)
Forestry Tasmania has displayed an unregistered panel van it recently 
confiscated from protesters in an exclusion zone in southern Tasmania.
The panel van is believed to have been used in protests across the country.
The nearly 30 year old panel van was loaded with ropes, a heavy duty crow 
bar and other protest equipment when it was discovered on Sunday morning, in 
forest west of Huonville.
Forestry Tasmania says two protesters were hiding nearby, and they said the 
dirty and run-down vehicle has been used in protests as far away as Western 
Australia.
Two protesters were found in nearby scrub, and were driven back to town by 
police.
But police say they will not lay charges against the pair, instead giving 
them maps detailing local exclusion zones.
The panel van is now at Forestry headquarters at Huonville and police are 
urging the owners to come forward.

http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/display.var.1873928.0.inmates_sentenced_for_riot_at_institution.php

Inmates sentenced for riot at institution
By Will Roberts
INMATES went on the rampage in a residential wing of a young offenders' 
institution after watching a news report on an earlier riot at their prison, 
a court heard.
Yesterday, six former inmates at Deerbolt Young Offenders' Institution, near 
Barnard Castle, received sentences of between 15 and 30 months from a judge 
at Teesside Crown Court after they pleaded guilty to violent disorder.
Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, told the court that on February 27, this year, two 
days after a major riot on D Wing, inmates were watching television in the 
association room in F Wing.
The D Wing riots, which resulted in more than £500,000- worth of damage, 
were shown on a news programme, which caused unrest among the 40 or so 
inmates in the association room.
In weeks running up to the trouble, prisoners were said to be unhappy at 
regime changes at Deerbolt, with access to the gym being reduced and meal 
times altered.
At about 6.30pm, as they watched the programme, some inmates began shouting, 
so an officer turned the television off.
Rehan Baluch, now 21, turned the television back on, which led to a 
confrontation with another officer.
Stewart Robertson, now 22, picked up a coffee table and threw it at a 
window, then at an officer.
Inmates began hurling pool balls at staff, leading to officers sounding the 
alarm and withdrawing from the room.
Once locked in, a group of inmates destroyed much of the association room 
and tried to smash their way into other areas.
They set up a barricade and said they would stab anyone who tried to get in.
The hold-off lasted for 90 minuted.
Riot-busting teams and a negotiator were drafted in.
The court heard how several officers were injured in the riot, with one 
female member of staff still suffering panic attacks.
Sentencing Robertson, of no fixed abode, to 30 months imprisonment, Judge 
Tony Briggs said: "You were clearly the ringleader in this matter and you 
enthusiastically continued it."
Christopher MacGillivary, 20, Christopher Murray, 20, both of no fixed 
abode, and Rehan Baluch, of Cheetham Hill, Manchester all received two-year 
sentences.
MacGillivary received an extra nine months for a separate assault.
Steven Brown, 21, and John Robinson, 21, received 18 months and 15 months 
respectively.
http://www.thisisaberdeen.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=202847&command=displayContent&sourceNode=232187&home=yes&more_nodeId1=148317&contentPK=19128775

'RIOT POLICE SMASHED OPEN OUR PAL'S HEAD'

12:00 - 01 December 2007

A Friend of a Dons fan seriously injured by Spanish police today blasted the 
baton-wielding officers.

Father-of-two Ian Bremner, 38, was rushed to hospital after he was 
repeatedly hit over the head by police armed with batons.

The police charged as Ian walked among other fans towards the Vicente 
Calderon stadium before the Dons UEFA cup-tie against Atletico Madrid.

And his pal Lindsay Bartlet, 45, said they were disgusted by how the fans 
were treated by the police and demanded an inquiry into the events.

Mr Bartlet said: "It was way over the top for the police to charge at us 
like that, it was completely unprovoked.

"One minute we were walking towards the stadium from the underground Metro 
station, the next the police were coming at us with batons."

He said Ian was caught up in the violence and was struck over the head 
several times by the police.

He said: "Action should be taken against the Spanish authorities their 
reaction was unacceptable. The police acted like animals and there should be 
an inquiry into the events."

He said the violence erupted after Atletico hooligans threw flares at Dons 
supporters.

Mr Bartlet, of Old Aberdeen, said: "My nephew and I got separated from Ian 
and we didn't know what happened to him till the next morning when we found 
out from the consulate he was in hospital.

"He was in a pretty bad way and was in the intensive care unit overnight.

"Ian has a four inch wound on his head where he took the brunt of the police 
batons."

He said Ian, a project manager originally from Buckie but who now lives in 
Denmark, had made a good recovery but that he was still very dazed by the 
attack.

Ian was expected to be discharged from hospital yesterday.

Meanwhile, piping designer Graham Cooper described how "all hell broke lose" 
when riot police arrived.

The 22-year-old from Ellon was among the fans drinking, singing and dancing 
near the stadium before the match and saw flares being let off from a side 
street before police turned up.

He said: "The riot police just lined up in a row and charged at the fans. My 
mate saw a policeman punch someone on the back of the head.

"They were just going mental for no reason whatsoever, it was completely 
over the top.

"It was pretty frightening because the atmosphere just changed like that.

"We had been saying how great it had been with no fighting or anything but 
then all hell broke loose, it was like a war zone."

One fan also said he heard two people had been stabbed and somebody had been 
attacked by a man wielding a plank with nails in it.

Yesterday the Evening Express told how a Dons fan was subjected to a 
terrifying rape in Madrid.

She was thought to have been walking back to her hotel room when the attack 
happened 24 hours before the trouble erupted.

A British Consulate spokeswoman confirmed officials had visited three people 
in hospital to offer them advice and assistance.

She said the consulate was in talks with Spanish authorities as well as 
Aberdeen Football Club and Grampian Police before, during and after the 
game, as is normal when British clubs play abroad.

However, she added: "We're going to raise all aspects of Thursday's 
incidents with the Spanish authorities."

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22871247-2862,00.html

G20 riot charges in court

December 05, 2007 12:00am
PROTESTERS accused of serious offences during last year's violent G20 riots 
are fighting to have their cases heard in a lower court.
Lawyers for 20 demonstrators have applied to have riot and affray charges 
dealt with at Melbourne Magistrates' Court, rather than potentially go to 
trial at a higher court.
The lawyers told Melbourne Magistrates' Court it would be quicker and more 
cost-effective, because the County Court was booked until 2009.
Prosecutor Chris Beale opposed the applications.
Mr Beale described the November CBD riots as a "sustained attack upon 
police".
Mr Beale said police gave statements that they had feared serious injury or 
death.
"It wasn't riot police armed with shields taking the brunt of the attack, it 
was ordinary police with minimal protection," Mr Beale said.
The court watched footage of protesters storming a police brawler van and 
pelting police officers with bottles, barricades and bins during the Group 
of 20 nations summit.
Mr Beale said one policeman gave a statement it took him three days to 
remove glass from his clothes and skin.
Defence barrister Stratton Langslow said the magistrates' court had adequate 
sentencing power to deal with the charges.
He said apart from damage to the van, there was little destruction of 
property and no serious injuries.
"It is difficult to see, apart from political purpose, not to deal with this 
matter in this court," Mr Langslow said.
One protester, Akin Sari, from Pascoe Vale South, has pleaded guilty to nine 
charges and will face the County Court in February next year.
Magistrate Sarah Dawes will deliver her decision today.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22876920-2862,00.html

G20 riot court bid fails

December 06, 2007 12:00am
DEMONSTRATORS accused of serious offences during last year's G20 riots have 
lost a battle to have the charges dealt with in a lower court.
Lawyers for the protesters applied to have riot and affray charges dealt 
with at Melbourne Magistrates' Court, rather than potentially go to trial in 
a higher court.
But magistrate Sarah Dawes yesterday refused the 20 applications.
The lawyers argued the earliest the County Court could hear the cases was 
2009, and the delay would increase legal costs for the defendants.
The prosecution opposed the applications.
Ms Dawes said the alleged offences were serious, and the disguises worn by 
some protesters in the file footage indicated planning.
A preliminary hearing will be held in February.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/12/05/ot-montebello-assault-071205.html

Undercover officer hit riot squad member at Montebello: filmmaker
Last Updated: Wednesday, December 5, 2007 | 11:55 AM ET
CBC News
One of three undercover officers accused by protesters of trying to incite 
violence at demonstrations surrounding the North American leaders summit in 
Montebello, Que., last summer was caught on video striking a riot squad 
officer, says the B.C. man who filmed the scene.
Protesters said three masked men in the video were undercover police 
officers and that the fact that they were carrying a rock, pushed through 
other protesters and police, and were apparently arrested shows they were 
trying to start a riot.
(YouTube)
"I was reviewing some of the footage on a high-definition monitor and I 
caught a glimpse of this shot where somebody walks by my camera and then I 
see a gloved hand reaching up and slapping the face of one of the riot squad 
members," said Paul Manly of Nanaimo, who posted a low-resolution version of 
the video on YouTube in August.
"And right after, you see that the person who's wearing those gloves is the 
same officer that has the rock. You can see the riot squad member recoiling 
from the blow."
Manly said he went over the footage while working on a documentary.
As of Tuesday evening, officials had not responded to the revelation.