Amnesty International reported today, Wednesday, that the right to protest has become restricted in European countries, and that protesters are described as extremists, terrorists, or spies.

The report, titled “The State of the Right to Protest in 21 Countries,” prepared by Amnesty International, revealed that the right to assembly and peaceful protest in Europe is under attack and subject to restrictions.

The organization noted that laws and practices in Europe that lead to the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, systematic arrests, prosecutions, and restrictions, make the right to protest unexercise.

She confirmed that some of the non-lethal weapons used by police in France, Germany, Greece, Spain and Italy caused permanent injuries.

The report mentioned information that police used disproportionate force against children in Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia and Switzerland.

She pointed out that countries are using advanced surveillance technologies against protesters, and that these technologies track people and store and analyze the data they obtain.

Amnesty International reported on the increase in facial recognition systems, which it called for banning, noting that mass surveillance is carried out in this way.

She stressed that portraying activists as criminals, terrorists, extremists, or spies is a method that dehumanizes the right to protest.

She stated that protests in solidarity with Palestine are not allowed in some countries, and that some slogans and symbols are prohibited by the police.

She pointed out that the police in some European countries discriminate against activists on the basis of their identities.

She explained that the injustice and inequality experienced by groups subjected to racism and exclusion continues at the level of actions.

In this context, the organization pointed out that the Palestinian marches that were scheduled to be organized in Germany in 2022 and 2023 were banned on the grounds that they “may be vulnerable to violence.”

“Authorities in Europe are insulting, obstructing, and trying to dissuade or unlawfully punish peaceful demonstrators,” Amnesty Secretary General Agnes Callamard said in the report.

Callamard pointed out the impact of the protests on obtaining rights and freedoms.

“Oppressive laws, unjustified practices, and openly exploitative surveillance technologies in Europe create a toxic environment that threatens peaceful demonstrators and protests,” she added.