Animal rebellion|The environmental movement, which has organized several demonstrations this month, plans to break the movement’s previous arrest records on Friday.
Prosecutor has started a preliminary investigation in a case where the police are suspected of pushing a protester to the ground at the Elokapina demonstration in Helsinki a couple of weeks ago.
The preliminary crime in the investigation is assault, and the suspect is one police officer, the prosecutor tells STT.
By publishing about the protest of the Elokaupina on video you can see how the police push the protester so that he falls to the ground. The situation has been described in the demonstration organized at the intersection of Kaisaniemimenkatu and Unioninkatu in the center of Helsinki on June 11.
According to the prosecutor, the decision to start a preliminary investigation was made based on the video.
A few days after the demonstration, Helsinki police told to clarify the events of the video. At that time, it was reported from the police department that the police prevented the protester from going to the street and the protester fell to the ground. The Helsinki police said that they are reviewing the events of the demonstration and evaluating the proportionality of the police’s actions in the situation.
At a demonstration a couple of weeks ago, Elokapina demanded an end to subsidies that are harmful to the environment and the climate. The demonstration congested traffic in the center of Helsinki for several hours. According to the police, some of the protesters sat down on the roadway and some stayed on the side of the sidewalk.
The police on the spot gave the protesters an order to leave before five o’clock in the afternoon. According to the police, the demonstration ended around nine in the evening.
The police arrested a total of 137 people at the demonstration, some of whom are minors.
Animal rebellion has organized several large demonstrations in June, most recently on Tuesday right in the heart of Helsinki. According to the police, around 1,000–2,000 people were present at the demonstration that stopped at Mannerheimintie. There was also a Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
On Tuesday, according to Elokapina, the police arrested more than 130 protesters. According to the police, there were dozens of people arrested.
Chief Commissioner of the Helsinki Police Department Heikki Porola told Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday, that the police no longer count the exact number of arrests “to avoid unnecessary work”. On Tuesday, he said for the magazinethat the police will not tell the total amount, because it “could be used against the police”.
Next time Elokapina plans to organize a demonstration on Friday in Ruoholahti, Helsinki. Then it plans to close the Länsiväylä, which is a major access route to the west of Helsinki. The police have recommended people to take time to move around the city center, as the demonstration may cause traffic problems.
Its website by The purpose of the protest on Friday is to break the movement’s previous arrest records and aim to temporarily exceed the arresting capacity of the police.
Elokapina’s series of protests called Myrskyvaroitus will end this weekend.
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