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More than 51 anti-monarchy demonstrators were arrested at the coronation ceremony of King Charles on Saturday, saying their duty to prevent disruption outweighed the right to protest. As per a report by Reuters, the leader of the anti-monarchy group Republic, Graham Smith and 51 others were arrested by the police protesting against the monarchy.
Hundreds of yellow-clad demonstrators gathered among the 10-deep crowds lining the procession route in central London to stand out from those clad in red, white and blue, and to hold up signs saying “Not My King”, the report stated.
Smith was detained before the procession began, said Republic and photos circulated on social media showed police officers seizing demonstrators’ placards.
The anti-British monarch group had vowed to mount the biggest protest in modern history and the protesters booed as King Charles and Queen Camilla made their way to Westminster Abbey, and as the service was relayed publicly on large speakers.
“It is disgusting and massively over the top,” said Kevin John, 57, a salesman from Devon who was among the protesters, quoted by Reuters.
Republic, which wants Britain’s constitutional monarchy replaced by an elected head of state, had been vocal about its protest plans, but Smith said this week that they had no plans to disrupt the procession.
UK Police Draws Condemnation
The London Metropolitan police tweeted it held four people “on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance”.
“We seized lock-on devices,” it added, referring to newly outlawed contraptions used by demonstrators to attach themselves to each other, an object or the ground.
But the detention was criticized by Human Rights Watch, which called the arrests “incredibly alarming”, reported AFP.
“This is something you would expect to see in Moscow, not London,” the rights organisation’s UK director, Yasmine Ahmed, said in a statement.
“Peaceful protests allow individuals to hold those in power to account — something the UK government seems increasingly averse to.”
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