July 20th-22nd 2001 has seen the worst police brutality on peaceful demonstrators in the European Union this century.

It happened on Live Television, was reported by Independent and Mainstream media, and many eye-witness accounts describe the incidents which took place. The killing of Carlo Giuliani on the streets of Genoa, Italy, was the most "newsworthy" story of protestor injury, however events unfolded which left many many other peaceful protestors and reporters seriously injured.
HERE is a copy of a story from a Sunday Times reporter who was present at the Genoa demonstration which verifies the police brutality served out to non-resistant non-violent protestors before and after they were held in police custody.
HERE is another diary of a protestor caught in the violence at the Genoa demonstrations from The Guardian (UK moderate left broadsheet.)

I have compiled various short lived headlines on one particularly brutal attack on the Headquarters of the Genoa Social Forum, the umbrella group in charge of peaceful demonstration at the Genoa summit.

This attack came in the dead of night, and consisted of a raid on the Independent Media Centre, the G.S.F. and a related building (an old school which was empty and undergoing building work and which was granted for use by the peaceful protestors with whom the G.S.F. associate.) HERE you will find a recording the the Live Webcast of GAP Radio taking place at the time of the police raid on the Independent Media Centre. Whilst at the centre police confiscated and destroyed electronic and video evidence of activities at the protests.

The school across the road was raided shortly after the police entered the Independent Media Centre. Police severely beat around 50 of the sleeping peaceful protestors after lining them up, and the walls and floors were covered in blood after the incident. Most were hospitalised, and some have not come out of coma at the time of compiling this page (23rd July 2001). Two of the people beaten at the school were members of the non-violent group "Globalise Resistance", and the are described thus:

"Both Richard and Nicola are members of the anti-globalisation group Globalise Resistance. They are also members of public sector union UNISON, and went to Genoa as representatives of their union. They both work as Support Workers for people with learning disabilities. Neither of them attended the Direct Action protests which took place on Friday. The peaceful march on Saturday was the first demonstration Nicola had attended in her life."

Eye witness accounts of the raid were available at many mainstream media sites as well as alternative sources.

Reports:

Indymedia story of the raid
Yahoo story on the raid
BBC World Service Story about the raid on IMC/GSF/School (mp3 audio)
Real Audio report hosted by BBC
Bill Hayton`s eyewitness account (HTML)

The Guardian Reports on the incident: "Police hit hard at core of dissent" "Riots force a review of summits"

The raid on the Genoa Social Forum and surrounding buildings is believed to have been a response by police to reports that various groups were in possession of documentary evidence of "infiltrators" and undercover police being the cause of some of the troubles in Genoa. Owing to the intimidation and physical condition of the reporters and protestors and confiscation and destruction of much of this evidence, little of the information has emerged so far.

Essential resource:
Genoa, 21-22 july 2001- dossier about violations of civil and human rights

Other resources of interest:
Account by Starhawk (personal description of the first day of protest)
Editorial from the New York Times: "What the protestors in Genoa want"

Posted by cruntUK 24/07/01.