28 people brutally beaten for insulting Putin (from ATSNN), page 1

Police in the Polish city Krakow have maliciously detained 28 protestors. The purpose of the protest was to expose Vladimir Putin and his continuous human right violations in Chechnya. The protest ended when police attacked the non-violent protestors kicking some in their genitals and throwing others in water in sub-zero temperature. The 28 detainees will be prosecuted under a new law which makes it illegal to offend a foreign head of state.

www.indymedia.org
Police have brutally detained 28 peaceful human rights protestors in the Polish city of Krakow today (Wed 26.01.2005). Claims of human rights abuses against the prisoners include: throwing people into water despite the sub-freezing temperatures; kicking people in the genitals, pulling their hair (dreadlocks) in order to exert pain, throwing two women to the ground and putting their knees on the women's backs despite no violence from the side of the protestors.

Urgent appeals to the Polish Police Minister, Premier and President and directly to the police detainment centre at Mogilska street 109 (telephone +48 12 615-49-21 - fax at central police station: +48 12 615 2607) where the human rights protestors are being detained may help free the victims and prevent any continuation of these abuses.

The main aim of the protest (pl) was against tomorrow's planned presence at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp of war criminal Vladimir Putin, responsible for the continuing systematic human rights violations in Chechnya. Protestors consider it hypocritical to invite a known war criminal to the anniversary of the freeing of a concentration camp. A wide consensus exists among protestors that other visitors like Dick Cheney are also war criminals who should be the target of protests, but points of view diverge on the degree of responsibility for war crimes or other human rights violations by the president of Israel (Moshe Katsav) and whether or not this is an appropriate time/place to protest against his policies. There is total consensus in supporting the paying of homage to the victims of the Holocaust: people are only protesting the presence of leaders themselves responsible for systematic human rights violations.

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It appears as if the iron hand of dictatorship has extended beyond American soil. People being beaten for ‘insulting’ a political figure? It’s 2005, should this be still happening? Seems as if these protestors had a little Gestapo in their coffee that day.

Well at least in America we have freedom of speech which enables us to say anything we want about our current dicta...er…leader. At least, I hope so. In any case, I must close this story by saying ‘All Hail Bush!’