Police 2.0: Peaceful activism is terrorism and fakenews are facts

Netherlands, 2014 - The Dutch police starts monitoring Frank van der Linde after he demonstrated against racism, climate change, animal cruelty, homelessness, and other social injustices. In 2017 Dutch law enforcement put him on a terror list and in 2018 they shared his data with the German Federal Criminal Police Office and Europol. In 2018 the Amsterdam prosecutor requested via Interpol that other countries collect as much information about Frank as possible and refer it back to Dutch law enforcement. Frank challenged the sharing of his data and his association with "terrorism". They responded "The term ‘terrorism’ is a broad term, and [police officers] don't really mean it." The Police maintained the categorisation. Last year, a Dutch police officer blew the whistle and spoke out in favor of Frank during a hearing in court. He told judges that Frank's police file contained grossly mischaracterised and biased information. The police officer was fired. Overall it seems that wherever van der Linde data is processed, data gets lost and accountability processes cave in. To quote Frank, “What do they have to hide?!” Spain, October 2019 - Legitimately and democratically, thousands took to the streets to voice their disapproval of a sentence that condemned political and social leaders to imprisonment. In November 2023 it was announced that 11 people were charged with terrorism for their alleged involvement in the peaceful movement known as 'Tsunami Democratic'. Accused include a journalist, human rights activists, civil society actors and political party leaders. The investigation conducted by the Spanish Supreme Court against peaceful movement ‘Tsunami Democràtic’ constitutes a direct assault on the exercise of fundamental rights. The Criminal Code is used to criminalise protesters and restrict the right to assembly and freedom of expression. This confirmed a trend as a few years earlier the same journalist, Jesús Rodríguez, renown for reporting on Police abuse, was assaulted by a riot police officer while covering a demonstration. The Spanish Supreme Court later upheld the sentencing of the officer to two years in prison. Alas, new proceedings are ongoing as other officers testified in the case with fabricated information. In addition, in 2022 and 2023 Jesús documented several cases of undercover police infiltration of peaceful movements throughout Spain. Irídia filed criminal complaints with 8 women affected by undercover officers. This talk aims to illustrate the fearless work of citizens and non-profits while navigating the bizarre maze of police abuse, as well as the encouraging steps won in courts in favour of the right to protest. Speakers: Frank van der Linde Lori Roussey, Director of Data Rights, data protection NGO participating in supporting Frank's courageous journey Cèlia Carbonell, Civic Space Officer at Irídia - Centre for the Defence of Human Rights