“This month the Supreme Court ruled that police did not break the law by keeping records of a 90 year old peace protestor suspected of committing no crimes on a vast database of ‘domestic extremists’. The decision grants huge discretion to the police who are now free to carry out mass surveillance of political activists. (NB from Rabble:  the state was always free to do this…)

The blacklisting scandal and continuing criminalisation of protest as ‘extremism’ reveal the potential for massive human rights infringements when police are allowed to track and monitor our political activities. At this event we will hear from those who have been victimised by and are leading the fight against the database state:

John Catt – veteran peace campaigner taking his case to the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the retention of his records on the domestic extremism database

Dave Smith – (Blacklist Support Group) – blacklist victim, campaigner and co-author “Blacklisted: the secret war between big business and union activists”

Shamik Dutta – (Bhatt Murphy Solicitors) police actions lawyer who represents John Catt as well as a group of 6 journalists also suing the Met for keeping their records on the domestic extremism database

This event forms part of a series of monthly events on social justice issues hosted by Defend the Right to Protest.”