Support The Gateshead Six: Protest Planned

Support the Gateshead Six: Protest outside Gateshead Police Station on Tuesday, November the 16th

Supporters of the six people arrested in Gateshead following the alleged burning of a Koran outside a public house in the town on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks (now dubbed the 'Gateshead Six' by supporters) have called for a protest outside Gateshead's main police station, which is situated opposite Gateshead Civic Centre, two minutes walk from Gateshead Metro station, when they all answer bail next month.

The first member of the Gateshead Six is due to answer bail at 10 o'clock in the morning on Tuesday, the 16th of November, with the rest following at half hour intervals throughout the day.

Civil Liberty is happy to support the protest and is calling on all nationalists, patriots and defenders of free speech and expression to gather outside Gateshead Police Staion from 9.30am onwards until 12.30 - 1pm when the last member of the Gateshead Six is expected at the station to answer bail.

Northumbria Police, which is a thoroughly dysfunctional police force, along with the prosecuting authorities, now face an unfortunate dilemma with regards this highly controversial case following the heavy-handed raid on the public house and the subsequent arrest of the Gateshead Six.

If they are charged and the case goes to court, not only will massive media interest be generated, but protests, for and against, are to be expected throughout the trial in a case that has freedom of speech and freedom of exprssion implications for all those concerned about our rapidly unravelling multi-cultural society. If they are not charged, then lots of people are going to get the message that burning a Koran is a good idea on the the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and that videoing the act of immolation and then posting it on the internet, as the Gateshead Six allegedly did, is perfectly acceptable as well.

The case also begs the question as to whether Northumbria Police would have acted in such a way if someone had set fire to a Bible and posted a video of the actual burning on the internet? Is this another case of double standards with one set of rules for Muslims (and other alien religious and racial groups) and another set of rules for Christians (and non-Christians) particularly if they are native to these islands?

Moreover, when a work of art called 'Piss Christ' (it requires little explanation, but it was basically a representation of Jesus Christ made with frozen urine) was exhibited at the Baltic in Gateshead, a publically-funded modern art gallery on the banks of the River Tyne, no action was taken by the police despite complaints that it was offensive, inflammatory and blasphemous. A later attempt to launch a private prosecution against the gallery was also thwarted by the authorities.

Perhaps the next person to burn a Koran should do it inside an art gallery and claim it is a work of art?

Support the Gateshead Six outside Gateshead Police Station on Tuesday, the 16th of November, from 9.30am onwards!

This article is courtesy of Civil Liberty. Please take a moment to visit the Civil Liberty website.