Kill the Bill marchers join protest
DEMONSTRATORS gathered across Wales on the weekend to protest against the UK Government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and to raise awareness of alleged police brutality.
The “Kill The Bill” protests took place in Cardiff, Bangor and Wrexham on Saturday.
Protesters in Cardiff and Bangor gathered at their local police stations, whereas those in Wrexham met at the office of their MP, Sarah Atherton.
The protests were organised under the Extinction Rebellion banner.
The protest in Cardiff was the latest in a series of demonstrations against South Wales Police, which have been occurring since January when Cardiff resident Mohamud Hassan died after being in police custody overnight.
The new Police and Crime Bill was debated by MPs last Tuesday – just three days after a vigil held in London in memory of Sarah Everard was interrupted by police.
The 300-page Bill makes a wide variety of changes to the justice system in England and Wales, from tougher sentences for killer drivers to provisions allowing court appearances via video.
Many aspects of the Bill have caused controversy, including the expansion of police powers to deal with protests, more stop-and-search, and laws about encampments that critics say will persecute Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities in the UK.
It has been labelled a “crackdown on the right to protest” and would make it illegal to inflict “serious annoyance” on a person without reasonable excuse, with up to 10 years’ jail in theory.
Various movements across the UK have come together in these protests, including Black Lives Matter, Extinction Rebellion and women’s rights group Sisters Uncut, all of whom demand that the UK Government “Kill the Bill”. The committee stage of the Bill has been postponed until June.
An Extinction Rebellion Cymru spokesperson said: “The government and much of the billionaire-owned media will say that the policing Bill is ‘necessary to deal with extreme protesters.’ In reality, this Bill is the death of our democracy. More police powers won’t make streets safer for women or for racialised people. And once peaceful protest is illegal, what will the government do to us then?
“The government know this and tried to rush the Bill through this week, hoping for no resistance.”