Support Dalston defendants: legal costs

On May 14th 2022, the community in Dalston (North London) rose up to defend food delivery drivers, resisting the police who were trying to remove them from the UK by offering legal advice, translation, and monitoring the actions of the officers.

Those of you who were there will remember that the police responded to this peaceful protest with extreme violence deliberately escalating the situation, putting many people at serious risk. It was very clear back then as it is still now that the police don’t want us taking care of each other. And this is what we must resist.

We were detained at random from the crowd. We were treated aggressively, including being subjected to chokeholds, punches and kicks. Our treatment was so severe that one of us was even hospitalised from a severe head injury. All but one of us were arrested, and most of us were detained in police cells for more than 24 hours. We were then subjected to stressful prosecutions drawn out for nearly three years, with each and every charge either dismissed or being dropped for lack of evidence.

Eight of us are taking the police to Court so they can be held to account, but we need your help to do that.

We don’t want the high cost of court fees to stop us from making the police pay for their repression.

We have a solicitor who has agreed to act for us on a no-win no-fee basis. However, we must each pay an advance of £1000-2000 just to have our case heard and some of us will need to pay another £2000 for medical reports to document the effects of what the police did to us.

When we win, and recover these costs, we will reinvest your donations directly back into supporting local community activist groups or other protesters facing the same situation.This is our community's money, lent in the pursuit of justice and returned to the community once that justice is secured.

Donate today and help the Dalston 8 to hold the police to account.