Event: Justice Means Everyone
Justice means everyone is a series of 4 webinars bringing to the fore conversations that occur at the faultlines of the left.
The series looks at modern day legal frameworks that exist such as terrorism law, human rights law, hate crime and more and investigate whether they are fit for purpose. Conversations cover counter-terrorism, national security, civil liberties and the criminalisation of solidarity.
Week One: Abolishing Surveillance
From Schedule 7 to Spycops and Prevent to the Hostile Environment, this webinar covers some of the elements of the surveillance apparatus that exists in modern Britain, and move into discussing how we build a movement to abolish it. Speakers include Minnie Rahman (JCWI), Eveline Lubbers (Undercover Research Group), Asim Qureshi (CAGE) and Johanna Kellett-Wright (DocsNotCops). This session was chaired by Hajera Begum from Abolitionist Futures.
Week Two: Criminalisation of Solidarity
Recent years have seen an increasing arsenal of legislation and policing powers to be used against trade unionists, student activists and all those who dissent. Within this we see a clear pattern wherein solidarity itself is criminalised. Speakers include Mel (Stansted 15), Liz Fekete (Institute of Race Relations), Elif Sarican (Kurdish Assembly), and Kevin Blowe (NetPol). This discussion was facilitated by Shelly Asquith from Stop The War.
Week Three: The future of our civil liberties
From the Overseas Operation Bill and Spycops Bill to multiple securitised lockdowns; there seems to be no light on the horizon for mobilising on our civil liberties which have been increasingly under attack. This webinar assesses the terrain on which we find ourselves and offers ideas on how we move ahead. Speakers include Asad Rehman (War on Want), Sam Grant (Liberty), and Eda Seyhan (COVID State Watch). This session was facilitated by Ilyas Nagdee.
Week Four: Justice means everyone
This webinar considers justice for workers, those in incarceration and those participating in behaviour which has been criminalised. It will also re-centres the importance of international justice, abanding patriotism, progressive or otherwise, in the pursuit of justice. Speakers include Dalia Gebrial (Novara), John (Prisoner Solidarity Network), Imani Robinson (TalkingDrugs.org) and Professor Laleh Khalili (QMUL). This session was facilitated by Lola Olufemi, from whose book, Feminism Interrupted the title of this webinar series is taken.