2009 G-20 London summit protests
 |
|
| Date | 1 and 2 April 2009 |
|---|---|
| Location | City of London, England |
| Deaths | Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper vendor |
| Non-fatal injuries | Over 180 protesters made formal complaints of injuries. |
| Charges | Delroy "Tony" Smellie, a Metropolitan police officer, charged with assaulting Nicola Fisher He was later found to have committed no crime and found not guilty at court. |
| Convictions | Phillip Georgopoulos, a student from Dudley who threw a computer monitor through the window of an RBS branch, was jailed for two-and-a-half years |
The 2009 G20 London summit protests occurred in the days around the 2 April 2009 G20 London summit. The summit was the focus of protests from a number of groups over various long-standing and topical issues. These ranged from disquiet over economic policy, anger at the banking system and bankers' remuneration and bonuses, the continued war on terror and concerns over climate change.
Although the majority of the protests and protesters were peaceful, the threat of violence and criminal damage were used by police as a reason to detain, or "kettle", protesters as part of Operation Glencoe. A bystander, Ian Tomlinson, died shortly after being pushed to the ground by a police officer. A second post-mortem revealed that Tomlinson may have died from an abdominal haemorrhage. The inquest into Mr Tomlinson's death found that he was unlawfully killed.
Their 12-point economic plan for democratic governance demanded democratised financial institutions to deliver secure jobs and public services, an end to global poverty and inequality, and a green economy. The movement was initiated by the Jubilee Debt Campaign, Trade Justice Movement, British Overseas NGOs for Development and TUC.
A peace activist climbed over the railings into the Houses of Parliament as a symbolic gesture of "power to the people". When arrested by police he explained that "This is the people's parliament, and I am one of the people".
Around five thousand people joined the "G20 Meltdown" protest outside the Bank of England. G20 Meltdown was a radical anti-capitalist, socialist organisation conceived in Paris and formed in London in January 2009 prior to the G20 summit. As well as the protest, they organised four nearby squats. Much of the protest, which was "kettled", was peaceful although there were violent confrontations. The police used batons and dogs and at least one policeman was injured; some protesters broke into a branch of Royal Bank of Scotland and a bystander, Ian Tomlinson, died after being hit with a baton from behind by a police officer near the protest.
...
Wikipedia