Tuesday 21 / January / 2025
Police in the British capital have drawn widespread criticism after officers manhandled some participants at a nighttime tribute to a murder victim that was held despite having been outlawed due to coronavirus restrictions.
Videos on social media showed officers restraining and handcuffing some of the largely female participants at the event commemorating Sarah Everard, which aimed to draw attention to the dangers faced by women on a daily basis.
Home Secretary Priti Patel and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have said they have requested explanations for police behavior at the rally at Clapham Common.
The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, called the scenes "deeply disturbing."
Activists' condemnation
The group Reclaim These Streets, the organizer of an initial official event that was canceled after being outlawed, condemned officers for "physically manhandling women at the vigil against male violence."
The feminist group Sister's Uncut tweeted late on Saturday that "Metropolitan police officers waited for the sun to set before they started grabbing and manhandling women in the crowd."
Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, disappeared while walking home from the apartment of friends in Clapham on the evening of March 3. A week later, her body was found in a wood in southeast England near the house of the main suspect in the case, who was serving in the Metropolitan Police's elite diplomatic protection unit.
The case has provoked heated debate about violence against women in the country.
