the other press Features October 9, 2002 fissert Your Rights: the Laws of Protesting finna Sarkissian The Link MONTREAL (CUP) — You are standing with a small group of activists at a peaceful demonstration. The scene is calm, with a few people chanting, and others marching around holding placards. A police officer walks up to you and asks to check your bag. You oblige and open up your backpack. The officer sifts through the contents. Your rights have been violated. For Helen Hudson, the coordinator of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG), this situ- ation is all too familiar. “Most people say ‘sure,’ because they don’t know they have a right not to,” Hudson said. As a private citizen, she has “seen more illegal searches than I can count.” The Montreal Urban Community police depart- ment, on the other hand, paints a different picture. “We never look through bags or in people’s pock- ets at protests,” Commander Pierre Cadieux con- tended. “There are no searches, it’s illegal.” According to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, “everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure,” unless, police have reasonable grounds to believe that you may be in possession of drugs or a firearm. Depending on the usage, certain items that you bring to a demonstration may lead to an arrest, or a search. “The possession of certain objects is not against the law, but the way they are used could make them illegal,” Cadieux said. For instance, if a protestor has signs attached to wooden sticks, and begins hitting the sticks against a wall or uses them to hurt anoth- er person, the stick becomes a weapon, he explained. This enforcement of the rule has been taken to extremes, according to Hudson, who has witnessed people getting arrested for having apple cider vine- gar on their person, on the grounds that it was a noxious substance. “If you soak a bandana in vinegar, it alleviates the effects of tear gas, so that’s probably why people had it,” she said. “But they also might have wanted to make a salad dressing later that day.” Montreal Police Media Relations Officer Christian Emmond said that police are at protests solely to maintain order and ensure that protests take place peacefully and legally. “Police officers will adapt to the situation. If the protesters are peaceful, the police will be peaceful,” he said. Emmond scoffed at the idea of the police using violence to control the crowds, “We're not talking about vio- lence, we're talking about necessary action,” he insisted. ACTIVIST BEATEN A Concordia activist, who wished to remain anony- mous for security reasons, has been a victim of “nec- essary action.” While attending a demonstration that protested the speech that was supposed to be given by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Concordia on September 9, he was beaten by riot police. “They're not really gentle with their night sticks,” he said. As a result of the beating, the activist has several cracked ribs and is still in significant pain. This was not the first time that this student, who is active in the anti-authoritarian movement, has come face to face with police brutality. At a peaceful gathering in downtown Montreal last April 26, he watched from his bike as police made preventative arrests, before an anti-G8 protest had a chance to begin. Police officers loaded up buses and dropped the would-be demonstrators off at different loca- tions around the city. He followed one bus on his bike to the Lucien-LAllier metro station. He was standing by his bicycle when police approached and asked him to move, and when he refused, they told him to identify himself. “I told them that I knew that they had no right to ask me this, and that it was illegal.” He said he took off after a bus a second time, and suddenly, a patrol car screeched to a halt in front of him and two officers jumped out. “They grabbed me off of my bicycle and handcuffed me. They asked me for I.D. and I stated that it was illegal to do so.” He said the officers proceeded to hit him in the face repeatedly until it was bleeding. Again, they asked for identification, and said if he did not com- ply, they would bring him to the police station. The — activist declined to give his name, so they put him in the back of the patrol car and took out their billy clubs. He was told to identify himself, or “they would make things messy. So, I identified myself.” Consequently, the activist was issued a handful of tickets for several hundred dollars, with charges ranging from cycling without holding the handle- bars properly, to depositing a liquid on the ground. “T still wonder if the liquid I was depositing was the blood coming out of my face,” he said. He is con- testing the tickets and is certain that “the city of Montreal will be properly embarrassed by the con- duct of their officers.” AWARENESS IS KEY Dee LeComte, a member of the Collectif Oppos?la Brutalit?Policere (COBP), hears similar stories on a daily basis. The COBP offers a support network for victims of judicial repression, and important resources to educate the public about their legal rights. “We strongly suggest that people write down everything that happens to them ASAP,” she said. Taking photoes of your injuries, and trying to find witnesses will help should you decide to file a com- plaint with the police ethics commission or file a suit against the police. “Suing the police is very difficult. Most lawyers will not even look at your case until you have $5000 to bring up,” LeComte said. If monetary constraints are an issue, she suggests other options like talking about what happened with the alternative media, student associations, community groups, or reli- gious organisations. Being informed of your rights can protect you in many instances. “Some officers may say, ‘Oh shoot, that person knows their rights, so I better hold back,’ “ LeComte said. Overall, LeComte said she hopes people will assert themselves by saying “I know my rights. This is ille- gal.” “Awareness is key,” she said. “People have to realise that it’s not just bad apples, it’s a systemic problem. People are targeted. Why is that?” For more info, log on to: Quebec Public Interest Research Group at Concordia University Collectif Oppos?la Brutalit?Policere Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Protecting yourself: what to bring to a demon- stration - pen and paper. - camera, videocamera or tape recorder. - running shoes or comfortable boots. - lawyer's phone number written in permanent marker on your body. As a protestor, if you are NOT under arrest, youhave the right to: - refuse to identify yourself. - ask police officers to identify themselves (name, badge number). - refuse to be searched (unless the police have “reasonable grounds” to believe that you are in possession of drugs or a firearm). - remain silent. If you ARE under arrest, you have the right to: - be informed promptly of the charge. - remain silent after identifying yourself (provide only your name, address and birthdate). - refuse to be strip-searched by an officer of the opposite sex (only same sex searches are authorized). - use the telephone to contact your lawyer. page 11 ©