The following statement can be attributed to Meg de Ronde, Executive Director at Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand:

Amnesty International is deeply concerned at a video of an incident at Pūtiki Point on Waiheke Island.

Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly, to protest, and to freedom of expression. This by nature can involve a certain level of disruption. Police must ensure that responses to such disruption are still legal, necessary, proportionate, and non-discriminatory and do not lead to restrictions that put the right to protest in jeopardy.

Whilst there may be legitimate restriction of access to private property, excessive use of force is by nature illegitimate, and law enforcement have an obligation to ensure the safety of all people involved. Excessive violence is never acceptable.

The right to protest must be protected. We will also be discussing our concerns re the interactions at Pūtiki Point in our meeting with the Police Commissioner on Tuesday.

We call on law enforcement to urgently investigate these incidents and ensure the safety of all at Pūtiki Point.

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