Protesters opposing the monarchy were detained by law enforcement officials in the vicinity of the procession route.
In central London, ahead of the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday, a group of anti-monarchy protesters were arrested, as reported by their organization. The Metropolitan Police force is under scrutiny for their handling of the protesters during this historic event. Alongside the thousands who gathered to celebrate the once-in-a-generation occasion, there were also demonstrators wearing yellow T-shirts, who booed and shouted “Not My King” throughout the morning.
LekkiTunes has reported that Republic, the UK’s largest anti-monarchy organization, claimed that police arrested its protest organizers without giving any explanation. At 7 a.m. local time, six Republic organizers were stopped and detained by the police, who also searched them, Republic Director Harry Stratton said. Graham Smith, Republic’s Chief Executive, was one of the individuals taken into custody, according to a video released by the Alliance of European Republican Movements.
According to Republic director Harry Stratton, when the organizers inquired why they were being detained, the police responded that they would determine the reason after searching the anti-monarchy protesters. After searching the protesters, the police arrested the six organizers and confiscated their placards, which displayed the message “Not My King.”
According to Stratton, the police did not provide any reason for the arrest of the organizers. Moreover, they did not disclose the location to either the arrested individuals or Republic group. Stratton called this behavior reminiscent of a police state.
Despite the police arrests, the Republic group noted that the crowd’s reaction to them has been overwhelmingly friendly. “I think people are quite perturbed by the police reaction,” said Stratton.
The group took to Twitter to express their disappointment, saying, “So much for the right to peaceful protest.” Meanwhile, environmental activist group Just Stop Oil also reported several of their members being arrested on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace, according to PA Media news agency. Witnesses reported seeing a large group of protesters in handcuffs.
According to a statement obtained by PA Media, Human Rights Watch, a non-profit campaign group, expressed their concern over the arrests made during the coronation event in London. They said that such arrests are something that one would expect to see in Moscow, not in London. The Metropolitan Police confirmed via Twitter that several arrests were made in central London during the event. Four people were arrested on St Martin’s Lane on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance, while others were arrested on Carlton House Terrace on suspicion of breaching the peace. Three people were arrested near Wellington Arch on suspicion of possessing articles to cause criminal damage.
No tags for this post.
