Martin Fisher

I am 63, so am a bit old to throw myself in front of a racehorse, as much as I’d like to. I have responsibilities to my psychotherapy clients and can’t risk arrest, so the better way to make my contribution is to offer therapeutic support. As a psychotherapist, I am trained and experienced in addiction, alternative relationship dynamics (GSRD) and trauma. As a former lawyer I will grasp legal processes facing anyone affected by bail, charge, trial, imprisonment or release, be it theirs or another's. However, to be clear, I cannot and will not give legal advice. I have joined because I am increasingly concerned at the oppressive reactions of nation states, including the UK, to those who seek to protest about government inaction over global heating, species extinction and environmental destruction. On Coronation Day I was stopped and searched four times in four hours, just for wearing a Republic t-shirt. Even before the 2023 Public Order Act, the police misused their powers to detain people in order to inconvenience them as much as possible, without the necessary intent to charge them. During the pandemic they misjudged their responsibilities, especially at the Sarah Everard memorial. Since the Act, the right to protest has been eroded to the point of extinction and they have still more powers that will be used inappropriately. It is that Act that has provoked me to become an activist... because it’s time to stand up and be counted.