Monday: USNZ Partnership Forum Masks A Suspension of Civil Rights

Over the last two weeks state forces in Auckland have attempted to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" the protest activity occuring around the USNZ Partnership Forum and around Auckland in general. Intense surveillance and repression has been a common feature as well as the use of bail conditions to disrupt the expression of political opinions. The paragraph's below give a brief summary of some of the ways the police violated civil and human rights in an attempt to suppress and disrupt dissent.

On Monday morning a Auckland Police Detective attempted to enter my home at 193a Symonds Street. He demanded that my friend open the door and repeatedly asked to speak to me. My friend refused and asked the Detective for a search warrant. None was given and the Detective left telling my friend, "We are going to lock Omar up".

On Monday afternoon at Princes Wharf I was arrested by police and charged with Obstruction. As I was being processed on Princes wharf the police attempted to make me sign my property sheet without putting the megaphone on it. One officer told me that there was no megaphone, though I was clearly arrested with one. After asking repeatedly for it the police brought it around from behind a car and put it on the property sheet.

After leaving Princes Wharf we were driven to Auckland Central Police Station where I was processed again by officer X180. He began by asking me where I was born. When I refused to tell him where I was born he told me to, "stop fucking around". I calmly pointed out that I had no legal right to offer anymore information than my name, address and DOB. At this point he told me he would rip my t-shirt off me. He then asked for the security cameras in the processing area to be turned off. The cop standing next to me looked away when I tried to make eye contact. X180 and another officer behind the counter told me to "play the game". I refused and X180 and the other officer took me to a bare cell, which did not have a toilet or a bed, to "cool off". I had offered no resistance nor aggression. I asked to consult a duty solicitor at this point and was told that I had to wait my turn. X180 and another officer X444 as well as other security guards repeatedly walked past my cell and I repeatedly asked to consult and instruct a duty solicitor without delay. I was ignored. At one point an officer with a an English accent told me "I'll get one of the boys to come and get that for you." I also asked X180 if i could use the toilet and he ignored me. I was forced to urinate twice between the crack between the cell-door and cell-floor. I was held in this cell for 6.5 hours. At one point the officer with an English accent came and told me that all I had to do to get bail was to answer the questions such as my ethnicity. I refused. I was eventually released at 7.30pm by officer X444. At no point had police allowed me my basic civil right to consult a lawyer. they offered no explanation for this. The megaphone was returned sans $70 of rechargable batteries.