EXTINCTION Rebellion has raised questions over "civil liberties, right to protest and human dignity" after their demonstrations yesterday.
Chaos erupted in Glasgow last night after police appeared to block the routes of protesters attempting to march through the city.
What started out as a rally on Buchanan street ended up in a cat and mouse between protesters and police as multiple roads across the city were left at a stand still.
Activists were eventually directed onto St Vincent Street where they claim police "kettled" in 500 marchers for two hours.
🏦 Protests at JP Morgan & Lloyds
— Extinction Rebellion Scotland 🌍 (@ScotlandXr) November 4, 2021
👮♀️ Police kettled 500 marchers on St Vincent Street for two hours
🦚 Kettled folk force-marched to COP26 venue, and then allowed to disperse
🚨 SERIOUS questions about civil liberties, right to protest, and human dignity.
READ MORE: COP26 activists face protest washout with '95 per cent chance' of Glasgow rain
A spokesperson for XR Scotland said: "Any claim by the police that they are following a "human rights approach”, or "facilitating peaceful protest", has been spectacularly proven false.
"Drastic over-policing and use of violent force against peaceful non-violent protestors has been Police Scotland's immediate position, denying our human right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression."
However, police have responded and brushed off claims of 'kettling', instead branding the act as a 'containment tactic'.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said:“In order to maintain public safety and minimise disruption during an ongoing protest, Police Scotland officers may use a containment, which is a permitted policing tactic where a breach of the peace is taking place or reasonably thought to be imminent.
“During any public order containment, Containment Liaison Officers will identify those with vulnerabilities or anyone not involved in the protest, and will remove them from any group to ensure their own safety and the safety of others.
“Containment as a tactic is used only if necessary by highly trained officers. While we are aware of the term 'kettling', it does not accurately reflect the tactic of containment.”
READ MORE: Greta Thunberg to lead Glasgow COP26 protest tomorrow — disruption expected
Pictures show a group of activists being surrounded by police on a Glasgow street yesterday evening.
They show a large number police officers carrying out what they claim is containment tactics.
Police later revealed that five people had been arrested following the multiple protests on Wednesday.
Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie added: "We will provide a proportionate policing response to any protest and violence will not be tolerated.
"Assaults on officers, who put their safety at risk every day to keep the public safe and have adopted a facilitative and rights-based approach to protest, is totally unacceptable."
The stand off between activists and police comes ahead of two mass protests set to take place in the heart of Glasgow this weekend.
This Friday, a 'Fridays for Future' march will take place, starting in Kelvingrove Park and travelling through the city towards George Square.
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has already issued a rallying call for people to get involved, and also invited striking workers in Glasgow to attend.
The COP26 coallition have also claimed they are expecting a number of around 100,000 people to attend a march on Saturday, which is being called 'Global Day of Action for Climate Justice'.
Find out about the marches in full here.
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