Friday, October 26, 2007

Imagine a country ...

... where someone gets killed by the police every week [1]. At the same time, at least 10 more people die an untimely death in state custody [2]. Week after week, month after month, decade after decade. And not a single copper, goaler or doctor gets sentenced. Not even for unlawful killing, negligence or anything. Not once [3].

On top, since most of the victims were poor, living in bad areas or just black, pretty nobody gave a flying fuck anyway. Year after year, the bereaved gathered for a silent procession followed by noisy protest in front of the prime minister's offices [4]. Since every year there were more bereaved than the year before, the protests kept on growing.

However, as usual no one else came ...

...

The UK has probably the grimmest death in custody toll of all Europe. According to official figures, every year about 600 people die in state custody. And everytime afterwards, the bereaved are just getting fucked over again.

Think about it.

[1] http://inquest.gn.apc.org/data_deaths_in_police_custody.html Official figures. However, the total count per year you have to add yourself ...
[2] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7005556.stm Different official figures (see chart at bottom). Now that's more convenient, innit? And also I'd say that charts looks more impressive. Police Custody figures pretty lower, though.
[3] http://www.injusticefilm.co.uk
[4] http://www.4wardever.org/uffcannualrally

Last year's uk.indy feature 2006:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/357852.html

Think again.

This year's flyer. Click to enlarge.

The above is a piece I originally published on uk.indymedia (http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/10/384167.html?c=on). Since this year the anarchist bookfair changed its traditional date and now is on the same saturday as the march (oviously oblivious of the march taking place on the last sat in oct for 9 years now), there were some well, at least partly a bit dubious comments, which make me once again wonder if so little 'radical' people would attend the annual march (or even know about it) if it was organised and led by white middleclass activists instead of people of colour ...

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