Mohawk Photographer Arrested at G20; Inhumane Imprisonment in Toronto

By Brenda Norrell.

Photos by Mohawk photographer Ben Powless in Toronto

Mohawk photographer Ben Powless, 23, was among 900 arrested in mass by police in Toronto during the G20 demonstrations. Police attacked journalists, punching one reporter in the mouth and beating another, during peaceful demonstrations.

Powless was jailed for more than 20 hours, then released without charges. He was arrested for "breach of the peace" (standing in a public street, with no provocation.)

Inside the G20 Summit, the world's powerbrokers and elitists, including President Obama, wanted nothing less than to hear the voices of the world's poor and the defenders of the land.

Powless provided photos of the Indigenous Day of Action in Toronto on the eve of the G20, before his arrest. In April, he provided photos of the Cochabamba Climate Summit in Bolivia. In 2007, he photographed the treatment of Indigenous Peoples at the UN Climate Summit in Bali, one of the year's most censored stories.

After Powless was released from jail in Toronto on Sunday, he spoke out about the inhumane conditions of imprisonment and in defense of those who remained jailed.

The Digital Journal reported his comments Monday evening from Toronto.

"I was one of the hundreds of people scooped up who were standing up for free speech and free assembly," said Powless. "We suffered from one of the biggest mass arrests in history as we were arrested and witnessed police exercise media blackout so information couldn't get out as to what was happening to the arrestees."

Powless continued that many people spent between 20 and 46 hours waiting to get out of prison, which were "completely unjust, completely arbitrary and punitive" against those who were presumed guilty instead of innocent.

The activist went onto state that when they were being arrested they were not being told why they were arrested or what they were being arrested for and were just grabbed by undercover police in unmarked cars.

"We were witness to one of the most disturbing detention systems, more of a resemblance to a prison camp, than I've ever heard of in Canadian society," added Powless. "They stole my bag, my wallet and my camera when I was in jail. When we were in jail, we were subject to 8X10 prison cells where many of 30-40 people were housed in cages. People had to go 12 hours without food and water and the only food we were provided with were food sandwiches, which many people were unable eat and going over 30 hours without any food at all."

Many women, says Powless, were not given proper sanitary conditions, such as access to tampons and toilet paper. Powless added that police were making sexist disparaging remarks against women when they went to the washroom.

Powless states that people were forced to sleep on the concrete floor and were unable to sleep during their time in jail, "These conditions cannot be allowed to go under Canadian law and Canadian justice system and should be allowed to go free."

Read article and watch video:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/293976

Naomi Klein said the real crime scene was inside the G20.

"What actually happened at the summit is that the global elites just stuck the bill for their drunken binge with the world's poor, with the people that are most vulnerable," Klein said.