For details goto: http://italy.indymedia.org

or: http://www.indymedia.org

The sporatic reports from the Italian site (ids #5232 through 5325 (so far)) make for dramatic reading.

Published on Saturday, July 21, 2001 by Agence France Presse

Police in Brutal Raid on G8 Protesters' Press Center





GENOA, Italy, - Italian police conducted a brutal lightning raid on the press center of the anti-globalization movement Genoa Social Forum early Sunday, AFP journalists reported.

The raid began shortly after midnight and ended just before 2 am (0000 GMT).

Yelling, the police smashed open the door and barged into the building on the via Cesare Battisti where there were around 50 people inside.

As people threw themselves on the ground they were kicked and clubbed by the police. Around 40 were injured in the raid, according to the Forum, a figure that was disputed by Genoa police.

Afterwards there was blood all over the place. One injured man with a huge bruise on his cheek said young policemen continued to club and kick people on the ground even when an officer shouted at them to stop.

The police were looking for film and photographs in the possession of the organizers of the anti-G8 demonstrations which degenerated into violence Friday and Saturday, resulting in one death and many wounded in clashes with security forces, the GSF said.

Copyright © 2001 AFP

I've been following the accounts but I fail to see how the Info Center was liberated. That term indicates some other force expelled the gestapo Italian hired thugs and that was not the case.

That force must have been the italian MP (according to a post on italia indymedia) who was present in the Indy Center and is reported to have recited the rights of international media.

Someone please expand and clarify this.

The web link is to the article which cites the Italian MP who curtailed the gestapo's brutalizations.