A law-abiding, political protester has been threatened with deportation from the U.K. after he was arrested during a peaceful demonstration. Hungarian-born Daniel Gardonyi has lived in the U.K. for several years and tirelessly dedicated his time to protesting against the social cleansing and gentrification taking place across London.
Gardonyi’s peaceful resistance against entire communities being forced out of the capital due to affordable social housing being replaced with expensive private homes, has seen him participate in numerous high-profile protests.
After the Friern Barnet Library in north London was closed by Barnet council, Gardonyi and other activists occupied and re-opened the facility—restocking the shelves with donated books, while acting as librarians.
During a protest in September against evictions on the Sweets Way Estate (one of many housing estates across the London and the U.K. being sold off to private property investors), Gardonyi was one of 19 people arrested for obstructing the high court enforcers.
Shortly afterwards, the activist received a letter from the Home Office, threatening to remove him from the U.K. as part of Operation Nexus—a police and Home Office operation designed to arrest and deport criminals from other parts of the E.U. living in the U.K.
“My threatened removal from the UK for engaging in peaceful political protest has very serious implications for everyone who is engaged in legitimate and lawful protest,” Gardonyi told the Guardian.
His solicitor, Daniel Furner, said that parts of the letter from the Home Office appeared to be unlawful: “It appears that our client has been specifically and systematically targeted as a result of his peaceful, political activities in the UK.”
In what appears to be a dark time for human rights, dissent, and nonviolent protest in the U.K., Gardonyi has now been charged and is due to appear in court on December 9th.
“One hand of the government wants to push me out of the country, shut me up and push me out without any hassle. The other hand wants to put me in jail, prosecute me and prove that I am a criminal. Which one? You can’t do both,” Gardonyi declared at demonstration outside the Home Office on November 24th.
At the same demonstration, another activist explained why he is supporting Danny:
Eviction resistances, environmental protests, community struggles, that’s what Danny is about which is probably why they want to get rid of him. I think they know perfectly well that Danny is no threat to U.K. security or that he is no threat to the general public — quite the opposite. I think what’s happening to Danny is part of a larger process of the state trying to accrue power to itself to be able to criminalise, exclude and deport anybody it likes, whenever it likes.
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Procedures similar to those being used to intimidate and harrass Gardonyi are being used in major nations of the Western World. In the U.S., persons who resist the efforts of the USGov are labelled as terrorists and sometimes prosecuted. In Germany, a recent law, “incitement of hatred” refers to actions that encourage hatred or violence towards a group because of their religion, race or ethnic background, is applied in accordance with the intent of the Attorney General Office of Germany. It is applied in a manner similar to the application of law by the US DOJ, currently in support of the Moslem religion. The governments of major countries of the Western World appear to be coordinating their efforts to suppress opposition by the citizenry to the dictates of government officials. Freedom of speech, in matters of a religious-belief nature, seems to be the focus.
AFAIK, Americans criticizing the US Gov are not being labelled terrorists – yet; the term is extremists. In the Council on Foreign Relations’ Foreign Policy articles covering the Paris incident there was an exaggerated shift replacing the term terrorists with “extremists” – a blurring of the lines. It looks like all forms of free speech are being targeted, including criticism of anthropogenic climate change.
“Then – in the name of democracy – let us use that power – let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world – a decent world that will give men a chance to work – that will give youth a future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will!
Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world – to do away with national barriers – to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness. Soldiers! in the name of democracy, let us all unite!”