Some of our fellow comrades and fellows of the London cycling community were arrested on Friday’s Critical Mass, coinciding with the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The total number of arrests is unknown for now, though up to 130 have been noted.
On of our chumrades has written: “For collectively riding my bicycle on the streets of London last night I was brutally baton charged by maniacal police officers, manhandled, threatened, abused and then kettled before being arrested (without a single warning of any law that I had broken) and put onto a bus with about twenty other people. I was driven to Charing Cross police station and was made to stay on that bus for 8 hours, being let out once to piss. I was subjected to completely inappropriate police jokes about water-boarding, bullied, verbally abused, and intimidated by officers.
I am bailed to return to the police station in September to see if they have the balls to charge me with anything. Until that happy time I am:
1. Not to go within 100 yards of any Olympic venue.
2. Not to enter any Olympic only carriageway, unless that carriageway is open to all traffic at that specific time. (Whose streets?)
3. Not to enter the borough of Newham whilst in possession of a cycle.
4. Take part in any activity that disrupts the intended or anticipated official activities of the Olympic games.
Thank you to you beautiful comrades who cycled ‘furiously’ after the arrest bus to the cop shop and lurked around on the street corners until the small hours like beautiful anarchic rain clouds. Love to you all, lets fight like we’ve never won and live like we’ve never lost.
Fuck the Police.
Fuck the Olympics.”
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