Press Conference Today: 4pm @ 40 College Street
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Joint Press Conference on Illegal Detentions and Harassment
Movement Defence Committee and the Toronto Community Mobilization Network
4:00pm
Police Headuarters, 40 College Street
Toronto - Over the last two days, Toronto Police have engaged in at least 12 of illegal detentions and subjected a number of everyday people to searches without cause. Targets include people on the street, based on their attire as the media reports, as well as community organizers and activists.
"Laws are being broken left right and centre by the Police, who are detaining and harassing people without cause", says Irina Ceric of the Summit Legal Project of the Movement Defence Committee which has trained over a 100 legal observers to be at all the actions leading up to and during the G20 protests.
"We can't wait for months so that the police is reeled in for their
behaviour - we need immediate action now", says Syed Hussan of the Toronto Community Mobilization Network. "If there are people out there enraged by these excesses, we urge them to join us on the streets - we have actions every day till Sunday".
A community organizer that was targetted, searched and given a spurious ticket will be available for comment.
The G8/G20 meetings took place in Ontario from June 25-27, 2010. Toronto-based organizations of women, people of colour, indigenous peoples, the poor, the working class, queer and trans people and disabled people organized a peoples convergence with 40,000 people taking to the streets, standing up for justice in collaboration and solidarity!
Activists, community members, inspired and outraged individuals came together as a movement to demand justice for people and the planet. Over a week of mobilizations, events, workshops and direct actions took place in the face of state and police repression, violence and infringements on rights and freedoms.
We must continue to mobilize and build greater solidarity among our communities- an important part of this is supporting all those arrested during the G20 summit, including our allies still in detention, and those released on bail.

