G8 summit / Utrecht(NL): last bicycle caravanist finally released after over 48 hours arrest

Pressrelease by the bicycle caravan info office in Rostock

After a surprising and completely unwarrented arrest of around 100 bicycle activists and members of the "Gr8chaoskaravaan" western european anti G8 bike caravan on Saturday the last arrestee was finally released last night.
Arrestees report of police violence and ill arrest conditions. Caravan protests strongly against the disproportionate police action. Legal consequences for both activists and police.

Last night the last of the 100 anti G8 bicycle activists who were arrested in
Utrecht (Netherlands) on Saturday was finally released after 48 hours in jail.
In what was obviously a prepared police operation, participants of the bicycle
caravan and supporters were arrested on Saturday while trying to leave the
city. The cylists where surprised when without prior warning a special unit and
horseback (beritten) police suddenly charged the bicycle ride with battons
drawn, one police van even driving right into the riders and hitting one
bicycle. The police then proceeded to arrest all members on the pretext of not
using the bicycle path. Bicycles were confiscated and removed with many being
damaged and locks broken. Demonstrators later reported that the police used
disproportional violence during the arrests.

Ill treatment continued during the arrest. For several hours the demonstrators
were detained in overcrowded cells - 25 people in a 4x4 m cell - where they
suffered from anoxia caused by lacking ventilation and were deprived of food.
While the first demonstrators were released during the night, a growing number
of reports about police intimidation came in. "They told us that what they had
done today was tolerant compared to what they would do if we continued to carry
out the actions we had planned" says Antje, a caravan participant.

The arrests were as surprising for the international member sof the caravan as
they were for the dutch activists. "It was a very unusual police action for
dutch circumstances" said Antje, dutch activist and caravan member. "I have
been doing bicycle actions for years and can't remember something like this
happening." Andree Narres from the info office of the bicycle caravans is
outraged: "I can't find any other plausible explanation than politics and
police doing what they can to prevent, harass and criminalise all protests even
ahead of the G8 summit." According to him the action may have been planned to
make the bicycle caravans entry into Germany harder. "The police didn't charge
the cyclists with the mere regulatory offence of not using the bicycle path but
of not obeying police orders, an offense that leads to a court hearing."

"We won't let them intimidate us", said Antje. Indeed several released members
of the caravan participated in the actions that had been planned together with
local activists for Sunday despite of the night-long and cumbersome arrests. In
nearby Zeist, around 60 people participated in an antiracist inspection of a
deportation camp and in Utrecht 50 people gathered infront of the police
headquarters for a loud protest demonstration. However, the caravan was unable
to maintain its original schedule and thus, the political groups in Nijmwegen,
who had planned to start their Anti-G8 action days together with the caravan
had to do so alone. On monday, a part of the caravan arrived in Nijmwegen and
joined local activists for a number of bicycle actions. After the release of
the last arrestee, the remaining caravan members who had stayed in Utrecht to
support the prisoners drove to Nijmwegen from where the caravan will leave
today.

Not only the arrestees will face legal consequences because of Saturdays events
in Utrecht. The legal team Utrecht together with many victims of the police
action wants to hold the police responsible for indiscriminate use of violence
and illegal arrest conditions. Also, the police faces charges of damaging
property for damaging bicycles and breaking locks.

Further material:
Video of Saturdays events in Utrecht:
www.indymedia.nl/nl/2007/05/44359.shtml

Reports about Monday 7th bicycle action in Nijmwegen:
http://dissent-archive.ucrony.net/dissentnetwork/wiki/Bicycle-Caravan_%22West%22:reports:2007-05-07