70 year old activist brutally assaulted

Activists gathered for the weekly demo outside the partially built Oxford animal torture lab as we entered the seventh week of no work. Unlike previous weeks, this time there were a small number of workers in evidence and the sound of hammering was clearly audible. Yellow-jacketed workers appeared from time to time above us on the concrete structure and stared down at the demo below. 30 activists stood alongside the hoardings on South Parks Rd. Just as in previous weeks there was the almost constant sound of passing motorists honking their horns in support of the demo and other people cheering as they went by.

At about 3pm one of the demonstrators, a seventy year old woman, was attacked by someone from inside the building site who had thrown something that hit her on the back of her head, liquid from the object thrown splattered over her head, some going into her mouth whilst others standing nearby were also covered in the noxious substance which quickly started to burn any unprotected skin.

The police were immediately made aware of the incident and at least one witness had seen a worker appear above the demonstrators on the building site and throw something below. The two worse affected woman were quickly rushed to the hospital, fearing what the noxious substance was, staff immediately told them to remove their clothing and they were promptly placed in a shower for fifteen minutes to make sure no contaminants were left on them.

Meanwhile police officers went onto the site and arrested one of the workers, all those who witnessed the assault went to the police station and made statements immediately. What was also disturbing was the fact that two young children were present on the demonstration and were only feet away from where the noxious liquid landed and this fact must have been very clear to the worker who threw the substance.

News travelled fast and within the hour a reporter from BBC South was at the demo filing a report on the incident. We were told by police officers at the site that a 'scene of crimes' officer would be attending to examine the scene and gather evidence but as the demo dispersed at 6pm no-one had appeared! Thames Valley Police can rest assured that we will be monitoring the situation very closely and if no charges are brought against the worker responsible they will have some serious questions to answer.

The SPEAK Campaign has this week been been served with papers from Solicitors representing Oxford University, attempting to get an injunction against us legally protesting against the new animal lab. Isn't it ironic that the University, whilst attempting to stifle free speech, has workers it employs assaulting 70 year old woman holding peaceful demonstrations outside their property? SPEAK will be vigorously defending our right to protest against Oxford in the Courts. SPEAK, unlike Oxford University, does not condone violence, does not brutalise sentient creatures, be they human or non-human, and does not go around attacking 70 year old woman just because they disagree with us. SPEAK will continue to work within a legal framework, it's just a shame the University has failed to follow our example.