Cops mistreat logging protesters

By Aneurin Coffey
and Lachlan Anderson

MELBOURNE -- Police use of neck holds to remove protesters from an anti-logging picket on the February 11 has been condemned by medical experts as highly dangerous.

The holds, which involve fists on both sides of the victim's neck, have been described by Professor David Ranson as having “the potential to kill”. Other medical experts also condemned the tactics.

The protest against logging in old growth forests in East Gippsland attracted 120 people to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for a morning blockade. The work of the department at the moment focuses on the delegation of areas of the East Gippsland forests to logging consortiums.

The protesters conveyed the East Gippsland Forest Alliance's peaceful message by handing out leaflets to the office workers entering the building.

Anthony Kelly, a spokesperson for EGFA, said that the protest was the start of a wider campaign. “Future blockades may even be bigger.”

Another spokesperson said that police had been briefed that there would be no violence at the picket but “decided to use strongarm tactics” anyway.

The holds used by the police are designed to reduce blood flow to the brain. This could cause death by stopping the heart or stroke. Death could also be caused through blocking of the airway.

These tactics are now under review, an internal police report labelling them “inappropriate under the circumstances”.

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