Police Hospitalise Photographer at Parliament Protest
good luck marc | 09.10.2006 14:52 | Indymedia | Repression | London
See below:
"Photograpers report that one of their number, Marc Valeé, is today hospitalised following what first reports say was action by officers of the Metropolitan police in the vicinity of Parliament Square - thrown onto a kerbstone."
"One says he could not move his legs when he was put into the ambulance but it will be some time before we know whether this will heal."
Mike
e-mail: editor@londonfreelance.org
Homepage: http://www.londonfreelance.org
Another report on Indymedia said:
"The person taken to hospital in an ambulance was a photographer. He was grabbed by police and swung forcibly around by his arm, falling and hitting his head hard. He was reported to be having seizures before being treated by paramedics."
Journalists writing for the Evening Standard website 'This is London' said:
"a photographer was taken to hospital by ambulance after he was violently pushed to the ground by a policeman. "
A member of the NUJ LFB said:
"Marc is a professional photographer through and through. He's been documenting youth culture and protests for over ten years and produces striking images. He's an NUJ and British Press Photographers' Association member.
Some of his work:
http://photoscrapbook.livejournal.com/
http://www.protestphoto.co.uk
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcvallee/sets
I hope the police haven't caused him permanent injuries, as it sounds pretty serious.
Good luck Marc.
good luck marc
Additions
Marc out of hospital - request for witness etc
09.10.2006 19:45
It's still not clear exactly what happened.
See main picture and request for wintesses etc here:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/10/353083.html
Thanks.
update
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
Are we turning in to a police state?
09.10.2006 15:40
Here is my Indymedia report of DSEi 2005 (includes a pic of Parliament Square before Brian Haw’s display was cut back):
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2005/09/323829.html
Keep on Trying, Paul (Edinburgh - too far to travel for this one!)
PS - Here is a report with one photo from the BBC politics website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6034415.stm
Paul O'Hanlon
e-mail: o_hanlon@hotmail.com
Not really no.
09.10.2006 17:40
Anyway, the cops are obviously taking this exclusion zone fairly seriously and i'd like to extend my thanks to them for turning potentially docile events and demo's into potential rucks from now on. Nice one! We don't want a 'right to protest peacefully' from a state we violently oppose.
Bigger and better events than this can and will happen in the future when the cause and focus of the events are better connected to theor physical goal and people are actually organised and coordinated on the ground, and there is not reason why the anti-war shouldn't move this way.
Its not class politics, its not the way and the light - but its better than listen to one group of wannabe politicians harp on about how they should be in power opn a wet saturday afternoon in hyde park.
PS - 150? seems a bit low to be fair. If there were 150 hemmed in people there were loads more outside who left when the police moved into the square.
straight up
POLICE
09.10.2006 18:14
If so and this person was just taking photographs then they SHOULD BE SACKED.
Brian B