I was just watching Newsnight and there was a segment of people arrested and charged over their conduct for the protests outside the Israeli embassy during the Israeli offensive over Gaza.

Newsnight found a series of issues and problems:

1. Offensive policing where people were pushed into situations.


2. Police officers assaulting demonstrators.


3. When people were charged, instead of normal demonstration charges, they were charged with terrorism related crimes. and most were Muslim.


4. When video footage that would be of use to defendants was found by one lawyer, he was prohibited from sharing it to others lawyers and defendants.


5. People were arrested in dawn raids instead of normal arrest procedures and then were treated like terrorists with the full spanish inquisition.


6. They were told that if they plead guilty they would get lighter punishment while the judges had already decided to use detterrent sentences.

That last one is a kicker - the punishment is made stronger not due to the "crime" but to deter others. This I have seen before - People charged over the Oldham and Bradford riots in 2001 also experienced similar sentencing.

In this case, people were given sentences that stronger crimes - such as what a convict would normally be given for burglary.

Once again Muslims got the short end of the stick when it came to policing. Why should there be trust?