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

[Presswork G8 2007 (english)]

*Pressrelease by the bicycle caavan info office in Rostock* 

Further information: Caravan info office Rostock ++49-176-28879588 

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

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:
http://www.indymedia.nl/nl/2007/05/44359.shtml 

Reports about Monday 7th bicycle action in Nijmwegen:
http://dissentnetzwerk.org/wiki/Bicycle-Caravan_%22West%22:reports:2007-05-0 
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Gr8chaoskaravaan reports and infos:
http://dissentnetzwerk.org/wiki/Bicycle-Caravan_%22West%22