Climate activists are in their second week where they block traffic on main arteries in Trondheim, to demonstrate against oil exploration. Last Friday, they sat in the roadway on Kroppan bridge in Trondheim. Two of the activists say they have been visited naked after being taken to the police station. This is not the first time this has happened. – When I was asked to take off my underpants, I felt nothing but fear, says Joachim Skahjem (24), as one of the activists who was taken in. Think the goal was to humiliate Skahjem came to the police station on Friday and was taken into a cell. There he is said to have been asked to take off his clothes. He was also arrested on Tuesday the same week, after blocking the road elsewhere in Trondheim. Then he was not visited naked, he says. Therefore, he refused to take off his clothes on Friday. Joachim Skahjem found the incident humiliating. Photo: Morten Andersen / news Eventually, two police officers entered the cell, and they are said to have grabbed each other’s arms, while the three officers together took off his clothes. The police are said to have pulled his underpants down to knee height, and then left the cell shortly afterwards. – It seems that the goal was to take off my clothes, humiliate me and create this traumatic experience, says Skahjem. The police are said to have referred to the possession of narcotic drugs as an argument for him to take off his clothes. The first policeman is said to have said that this is a necessary security procedure he has done for 30 years. Three of the six activists who took part in the action last Friday were brought into custody and are said to have been undressed for a visit, according to the activist. Morgenbladet first mentioned the case. Will report the case Gard Hope Bakke was also brought to the police station after the demonstration on Friday. He is also said to have been asked to take off his clothes. After arguing that the police have no basis in the law, he still chose to undress voluntarily, rather than being forcibly undressed, he says. The police officer is said to have asked him to take off his underpants, turn it over and turn around. Gard Hope Bakke believes the search was an abuse of power by the police. Photo: Morten Andersen / news – For me personally, this was not so unpleasant. But I do not want others to be treated like that. I see it as an abuse of power by the police, says Bakke, who thinks they are trying to scare them from continuing to act. – But must not you just expect the police to carry out a naked visit if there is a previous history of you? – As long as there is previously relevant history on me. I have an immaculate scroll. The only thing I have done before is that I was active in an action on Sjursøya. I have never had intoxication on my body, says Bakke. Climate activists from the same network experienced being naked at the police station in April after an action outside Tønsberg. The special unit for police matters is now investigating the incident. Bakke says he will also report the case to the Bureau of Investigation. Picture from a previous demonstration in Trondheim by the group «Stop the oil exploration». Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news Sorry – If it is true that this has happened then I apologize. This is what Arve Nordtvedt, head of Sentrum police station in Trondheim, says. He can not confirm that the activists were visited naked on Friday. He has spoken to four of the officers who handled the activists, who say they have not carried out a naked visit. The last two officers are on holiday and are abroad. – If an officer chooses to visit someone naked in custody, this must be logged and justified. in the arrest records. It says nothing about nude visits, says the station manager. – But we also have no reason to doubt the information provided here, says Nordtvedt. Arve Nordtvedt, head of Sentrum police station in Trondheim, apologizes for the incident if it has happened. Photo: Helene Solheim / news Has clarified the regulations to officers Normal procedure is that nude visits are not carried out, unless there is concrete reason to believe that the person being arrested can hide objects or weapons on the body, which can not be revealed in other ways. – How good routines would you say that the city center police station has for inspections? – I think we have good routines. But I see that in this situation it does not appear in the arrest log that they have been visited naked. If it is the case that it has been done, then it is obvious that this is a routine failure, says the station manager. – Do the police see this as a serious matter? – Serious was perhaps to take in. But we see it as a very unfortunate case, if there was no basis. Nordtvedt has now informed its employees that the activists will not be visited naked, unless there is concrete reason to suspect that they are hiding something. MDG: – Can weaken confidence Ingrid Liland is deputy leader of the Green Party. She believes it is very unfortunate that the police for the second time have nakedly visited activists against their will. – The use of force seems disproportionate and can in the worst case weaken confidence in the agency. It is worrying and something they must take seriously, says Liland. The deputy head of the MDGs reacts strongly to the nude visitation. Photo: Nicklas Knudsen / Nicklas Knudsen Liland believes that there must be a high threshold for naked people to visit, and that situations must be reserved where people can pose a danger to themselves or others. There is no indication that this was the case in this situation, says the deputy manager. If the intention is to deter civil disobedience, it is especially serious, Liliand believes. She believes it can scare people from using their freedom of speech and getting involved in big and important societal issues. – The police should ask themselves if they have too low a threshold to use such an intrusive tool, she says.
ttn-69
Joakim and Gard say they were visited naked in the arrest in Trondheim – news Trøndelag
