“The Toronto Police began by escalating with attendees and being violent with them.”
Two peaceful Human Rights Day rallies took place in Toronto on Sunday in solidarity with Palestine. One of the demonstrations saw police violently arrest a protester.
Torontonians gathered at University Ave., in front of the U.S. Consulate, and at Yonge and Dundas Square to demand a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s attacks on Gaza, which have so far killed approximately 18,000 people since October 7.
According to a witness who spoke to The Maple at the scene of the arrest, police on foot knocked a woman on a bicycle to the ground. After seeing the woman on the ground, there was an argument between another demonstrator and a police officer.
Police then pushed the demonstrator to the ground before arresting him. Video footage of the incident shared to social media showed an officer punching the demonstrator as he lay pinned to the ground.
“The Toronto Police began by escalating with attendees and being violent with them and then proceeded to arrest a man and assault him,” Dalia Awwad, one of the rally organizers and a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, told The Maple.
The demonstrator was charged with obstructing and assaulting a peace officer, according to a police statement.
Following the demonstrator’s arrest, other attendees at the rally marched to the Toronto Police 52 Division on Dundas St. and chanted “let him go” until he was released at around 6.30 p.m.
Awwad said that the protesters were “refusing to back down, sending a clear message that if they come for one of us, we all show up, and we stay here until that person is released.” (more...)
Toronto Police Violently Arrest Palestine Solidarity Protester On Human Rights Day
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