Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Officers hurt as protests erupt at Iranian embassy
POLICE HURT WHILE TRYING TO PROTECT SECURITY OF BUILDING
AT least five officers have been seriously injured after protests erupted into chaos outside the Iranian Embassy in Knightsbridge on Sunday.
Police could be seen screaming “get back” and holding up their truncheons as they tried to control crowds of Free Iran supporters attempting to rush towards the Iranian government building.
Large gatherings have taken place across the UK in recent days in opposition to the Iranian government, which came to power in 1979 following the Islamic Revolution.
Dissidents have labelled the government – led by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – a “brutal dictatorship”.
Iran has a poor record on human rights with nearly 7,000 executions since 2010, and its presidential elections are widely considered to be rigged.
The current wave of unrest began after the death of a woman – Mahsa Amini – in custody who had been detained by the morality police in Iran.
Demonstrations have spread across the country and now to the UK.
The disorder in the London protest initially broke out in the immediate vicinity of the embassy, before moving to Marble Arch and then to Maida Vale where the Islamic Centre of England was targeted.
Officers were able to protect the security of the building, but in doing so were subjected to further attacks.
The Met Police said masonry, bottles and other projectiles were thrown from the crowd, placing at least five officers now in hospital with injuries, including broken bones. While the force noted the “majority” of those in attendance “continued to act responsibly”, it said a “significant group actively sought to confront officers and protestors from groups they were not in agreement with”.
Public order teams with protective equipment including helmets and shields had to be brought in to restore order among the protestors and to protect other officers. Twelve people have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder.
Commander Karen Findlay said: “We respect the right of people to protest peacefully and always work with organisers to make that possible, but we will not tolerate unprovoked attacks on our officers as we have seen today or protest that leaves other communities feeling unsafe.
“We have officers in hospital tonight because they were attacked in what was a significant outbreak of violent disorder.
“We will make sure they get the support they need. We have already made a number of arrests, but we know there are people who were not caught tonight who committed serious offences.
“In the coming days, we will be using all the tools at our disposal – including CCTV and other footage – to identify those people and bring them to justice.”
A Section 35 dispersal order was in place for the next 48 hours in the area impacted by the disorder.