UK police drew condemnation after arresting leading members of the anti-monarchy group Republic as they prepared to protest along the route of a procession for the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.
Officers from London's Metropolitan Police force detained six organisers from the pressure group and seized hundreds of their placards, Republic said, just hours before Charles's crowning.
"They won't tell us why they've arrested them or where they're being held," a Republic activist told AFP in London's Trafalgar Square. Police officers arrest a protester from the 'Just Stop Oil' group, close to where Britain's King Charles III will be crowned at London's Westminster Abbey"Peaceful protests allow individuals to hold those in power to account -- something the UK government seems increasingly averse to."
"They're under arrest. End of," the officer told them, walking off, according to footage posted by the group on Twitter. The new police powers law was enacted after months of disruptive tactics around Britain by groups opposed to fossil fuels. It entails stiffer jail terms against activists gluing and padlocking themselves to immovable objects.
"Their intention was only to display T-shirts and flags. This is a massive authoritarian overreach," Just Stop Oil said.
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