New Peace Campaign to be launched: 'Right to Protest'
First Meeting: 31 December

A number of anti-war protesters were arrested in Whitehall on 31 October 2002 during a peaceful protest organised by the Stop the War Coalition. Protesters were tracked by police and arrested in Trafalgar Square. They are now being charged with crimes including violent disorder, an offence with a maximum sentence of five years in jail. They strongly deny the charges. A protest campaign, 'Defend Peace Protests', is being launched on their behalf.

One of the arrested campaigners was Leo Zeilig, who is well-known in the movement for his activity on behalf of social movements in Africa. Leo is next in court for a committal hearing on Tuesday 31 December from 10 am onwards at Bow Street Magistrates Court, near Covent Garden tube. We expect this to last for between thirty and sixty minutes. We are asking his supporters to attend that hearing, and to meet afterwards, to launch the campaign.

Legal representatives of those arrested are also calling for witnesses to come forward, anyone who saw anything unusual about the way in which the police handled this action. They have already received reports of aggressive policing, of some protesters being manhandled by individual officers, of banners broken, of people being punched and kicked, or just generally intimidated.

For further information please contact John Tipple at Linn and Associates solicitors on 01255 240 880,
or write to the
Stop the War coalition,
PO Box 3739,
London E5 8EJ
or email righttoprotest@hotmail.com