(voices of resistance from occupied london)

By Rikki, rikkiindymedia[at]googlemail.com

What does the phrase "Serious Organised Crime" conjure up in your mind? Violent murder, drug gangs, and protection rackets perhaps? High-level fraud and corruption, corporate tax evasion and dodgy arms deals maybe? Think anti-social behaviour, and peaceful protest, and you'll be on the right lines. SOCPA is a long document, setting up the ‘Serious Organised Crime Agency’ but also introducing clauses that target protesters in this country in various ways. Section 125 covers harassment (used on animal rights protestors), Sections 128-131 deal with military bases (with serious penalties on trespassers) and Sections 132-138 outlaw "unauthorised" demonstrations roughly 1 kilometre around Parliament.

In 2001, Brian Haw began a vigil in Parliament Square in response to the years of child-murdering sanctions against Iraq. Despite many legal challenges, his protest site grew ever larger.

SOCPA created a new legal basis with which to remove him. Left-wing MP John McDonnell told me "This was a targeted attempt to remove demonstrators from outside Parliament itself. In debates on a number of occasions there were laughable instances brought forward that we'd have terrorists hiding behind Brian Haw's placards and that's why the police were given control over the size of the placards. But the issue wasn't about security, it was that they didn't like being reminded of the implications of their decision on Iraq."

Anyone demonstrating within the zone must notify the police at least six days before (in emergencies not less than 24 hours) and the "Commissioner must authorise" but he may impose conditions. Brian spotted a legal flaw. As his demo had started in 2001, he’d need a time machine to comply. Winning his argument in court, on August 1st 2005, Brian became the ONLY person in Britain immune from the new law.

On that warm summer's afternoon, 200 people gathered outside Parliament and used a megaphone in defiance of the Act. Police wandered around handing out warning leaflets and were heard talking about a quota of arrests, needing six. In court the following January, we learnt police had negotiated with Stop the War Coalition organizers that day, but none were arrested or stood trial.

SOCPA has been continually challenged by creative campaigners. At Sunday campaigning picnics, an amusing pattern emerged, as Community Support Officers called police, then constables and sergeants called superiors. Decisions were finally taken by Chief Inspectors - a first sign that this was no ordinary law and had a clearly political dimension. Over the months, various officials, including GLA-hired heritage wardens (a particular source of amusement), puzzled over blank white banners, iced cakes with political slogans, and ‘Peace’ flags, as they tried to work out whether illegal protests were occuring. Mark Barrett was arrested for taking part in what was described by the picnickers as a "banner-making workshop" - police pounced on him as he tried on one of the small neck-hung banners he'd created.

On a drizzly October morning, Milan Rai and Maya Evans took part in a worldwide commemoration, naming some of the dead Iraqi civilians and British soldiers. Police moved in, gave them a warning and then arrested them both. Maya's December trial was the first SOCPA conviction, and her face graced the front page of the Daily Mail which asked what had happened to freedom. Indeed!

A huge ‘critical mass’ of over 1000 cyclists forced police to back down over attempts to enforce SOCPA on them, and a High Court challenge asserted their right to choose their own route, so Parliament Square and Downing Street still remain common stopping points.

It became ever clearer that political decisions were being made. Whenever media was involved, the police would back off. Notable examples were the visit of American activist Cindy Sheehan, and a carol-singing evening with Brian Haw in the Square. On both occasions, press were present, as well as high-profile visitors. No arrests or interference occurred despite appreciable numbers. In January, an unauthorised ‘naming the dead’ ceremony (6 months after the July bombings) was left untroubled while the media watched.

But Barbara Tucker stood alone outside Parliament with her banner "I am not the seriously organised criminal”, and was an easy target for the police who arrested her, beginning a campaign of intimidation and harassment that continues to this day. She has been ‘reported for possible summons’ nearly a hundred times, has been badly assaulted on several occasions, and charged with various spurious offences – police even tried to section her under the Mental Health Act. Despite all this, there’s been no sensible trial against her and she is still innocent of any crime, but currently is under bail conditions that ban her from the SOCPA zone.

In May 2006, three judges, apparently believing in time travel, brought Brian’s display under police control. Charing Cross Superintendent Peter Terry devised some conditions restricting Brian’s demo to 3 metres in length and then launched a night raid and removed most of his site. This January a court judged that this had been unlawful. The Act gives the power of authorisation to the ‘Commissioner’, and despite a dodgy undated letter delegating this role to Terry, the court ruled no right to delegate. Brian was immediately presented with new ‘lawful’ conditions, but strangely, Terry has continued flouting the law and still often ‘authorises’ demos even though he knows he is powerless to do so.

So far, legal challenges against the law have failed. The Human Rights Act allows a government to balance the needs for freedom against the need to protect the workings of parliament and ‘democracy’. The Act says that the Commissioner MUST authorise, so the requirement to notify is not seen in law as sufficient interference with human rights. A November High Court challenge failed. Next month sees a challenge to the 24 hours notice aspect. Last year saw an urgent demo outside Downing Street after Jenin prison was suddenly handed over to Israel. There was a pressing need to protest within 24 hours. It is possible that this aspect of the law might be successfully challenged in terms of human rights.

Another challenge comes from within Westminster. Baroness Sue Miller was observing the farce of more than 800 police officers using SOCPA to control and disperse a group of no more than 150 anti-war protesters at the ‘Sack Parliament’ demo last October. She decided to introduce a Repeal Act, which has now had its second reading. Brian’s Parliament Square campaign is using this as a focus in their battle to remove the SOCPA laws (www.repeal-socpa.info).

Milan Rai and Maya Evans are both currently charged as organisers of a ‘Remember Fallujah – Naming The Dead’ event, and will appear in court next month. As they both have ‘previous’ it is quite possible they will face prison if found guilty. At least, they could receive massive fines which they are unlikely to pay on principle, so ending up behind bars on that basis. Maybe this might wake up a public campaign to remove these restrictions?

Otherwise this law will continue to succeed in hampering hard-earnt freedoms. In practice, anyone from outside London is dissuaded from protesting, and serial protesters here are targeted and harassed off the streets. With the right to impose and change conditions on the ground, police can make any protest virtually impotent, and anyone wanting to hold a protest now has their name added to a police database. This is political, divisive, and repressive. We must find ways to fight it, to make it unworkable, and ultimately to have it repealed.

More info, history and current campaigning at http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/358676.html