UK: The government has unveiled plans to ban anyone who criticises it from appearing on TV or protesting.

The Tap – by Janine Griffiths

Under the guise of protecting the public from ‘extremism’ the government proposal will allow police to vet the social media activity of “harmful” individuals and curb their right to speak at public events.

The maximum sentence could be up to 10 years in prison for breaking a banning order.

These new plans would also promise greater powers for British police to access internet data.  

Targeted individuals will also be barred from certain public spaces and from associating with named people. The plans were unveiled by Theresa May at the Conservative Party Conference and reiterated by David Cameron, in his speech on ‘extremism’.

So who is included under this new definition of extremists? Are we just talking about people who allegedly bomb buildings?

Well, according to David Cameron, the law will target “non-violent conspiracy theorists” who he claims are just as dangerous as the ISIS terrorists and must therefore, be eradicated.

He referenced 9/11 and 7/7 Truthers as examples of the type of extremism that must be dealt in a similar fashion to ISIS.

Such individuals are deemed to be a threat to “the functioning of democracy.”

Furthermore, the Home Office claimed that the government’s “counter-extremism” strategy would encompass “the full spectrum of extremism”.

In other words, you no longer have to be violent or cause harm to another to be declared a terrorist. David Cameron has announced that even those with views that are not accepted by the government will now be deemed extremists.

In addition, police curbing orders would also target those who undertake activities “for the purpose of overthrowing democracy,” a broad definition that could encompass political activists of varying views.

Radical Muslims and far-right organisations would also be classified as terrorists.

As the law currently stands, organisations can only be banned if there is evidence of links to terrorism.

Under the new law, and according to David Cameron’s own definition, anyone who criticises the functioning of the government or the official version of events could be subject to laws which severely restrict their freedom of speech and movement. Theresa May also stressed that you do not necessarily have to have committed a crime to be subject to these new orders.

Announcing these draconian new measures, Mr Cameron added: “The problem that we have had is this distinction of saying we will only go after you if you are an extremist that directly supports violence.”

In addition, those who become the target of government intervention would also be prevented from holding positions of authority in local communities and schools.

Enhanced powers will allow the Charity Commission to close down groups deemed to be fronts for “extremist activity” as a means of tackling funding streams.

The law is part of a series of new measures that effectively ban the right to free speech in this country.

Earlier this year, the Akashic Times reported on how Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC) laws targeted individuals who they claim pose a direct threat to VIPs including the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the Royal Family.

 It was given sweeping powers to check more than 10,000 suspects’ files to identify mentally unstable potential “killers and stalkers” with a fixation against public figures.

The team’s psychiatrists and psychologists then have the power to order treatment – including forcibly detaining suspects in secure psychiatric units.

The law targeted activists who were the most vocal about criticising the Royal Family. Activist David Compan was imprisoned without charges in a London mental hospital after he publicly associated himself with the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State (ITCC) campaign to hold the Crown of England responsible for crimes against children.

He was only released after eight days of campaigning by the ITCC.
See www.itccs.org

Last year, the Justice and Security Act gave the government sweeping new powers to imprison British citizens without a trial.

 It prevents those accused by the government from seeing the evidence against them, or the witness testimony against them. The individual concerned would also be unable to submit evidence – or even enter the courtroom, if it is deemed to be in the court’s interests. In fact, the court will not even have to inform the person concerned of why they have been taken to court, or even that a trial is taking place.

It could mean that the first a person hears of a case against them, is when the police turn up to take them to jail to begin their sentence.

The government claim that secrecy is necessary for “the interests of national security” and added that protection was needed for witnesses involved in giving evidence against the accused.

This latest move, announced by Cameron, represents yet another goose-step into tyranny by a government determined to shy away from any criticism.

http://akashictimes.co.uk/david-cameron-unveils-plans-to-ban-free-speech-and-protest/

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