Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, April 04, 2013

Jennifer Pawluck Arrested For Instagram Photo Of Ian Lafreniere Graffiti

A 20-year-old Montreal woman was surprised when police showed up at her home to arrest her for an Instagram photo she took of graffiti showing Montreal police spokesperson Ian Lafreniere with a bullet in his head.

Jennifer Pawluck took the photo in question in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood of Montreal last month.

"Many of my friends do not like the police," Pawluck told the Huffington Post Québec, in French. "I thought it would be funny to put the picture on Instagram. I do not even know who he is, Ian Lafreniere."

The police arrived at her home Wednesday morning with a warrant accusing her of uttering threats to the well-known spokesman for the City of Montreal Police Department (SPVM). She was brought to the police station and detained for nearly four hours, she said. The SPVM had not returned calls from Huffington Post Québec at the time of publication.

The arrest warrant alleges that Pawluck acted with intent to harass Lafreniere and gave him reason to fear for his safety.

While she awaits her trial date, Pawluck must not come within one kilometre of SPVM headquarters or Lafreniere's home.

Pawluck was a familiar face during last year's tuition protests by Quebec students. She was arrested three times during mass roundups, but says she has never been arrested under the Criminal Code before.

"I'm not a violent person," she said. "I did not want to hurt anyone. "

Pawluck says the arrest took place peacefully and officers were "friendly." She was read her rights, but not handcuffed.

Pawluck intends to plead not guilty when she appears in court on April 17.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca
Author: Patrick Bellerose

1 comment:

  1. Unfortunately, this is only part of a larger movement to restrict our liberty of expression. We collectively have to wake up now. Take time for exemple to visit openmedia.ca

    ReplyDelete