REMINDER-MEDIA ADVISORY: Civil Society Groups Demand G20 Inquiry Into Pattern of Abuses

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 24, 2011) - On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Toronto G20 meetings civil society groups will come together to challenge the lack of a full public inquiry into the pattern of police and political abuses perpetrated during the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. Some groups are casting doubt on the legitimacy of criminal charges and convictions against civilians when no ranking police officer or federal politicians have been held to account. Only a handful of police have been charged for the dozens of injuries and widespread abuses of civil liberties that were reported. The public still has no answers as to who planned, ordered, and oversaw the mass arrests, kettling of civilians, excessive use of force, and denial of basic rights that shocked observers. The G20 met in Toronto to orchestrate a global agenda of drastic service cuts and layoffs which impact most severely on the poorest members of society. Many groups contend that the crackdown on the protests was part of an attempt to silence opposition to these policies.