G4S AGM disrupted by Palestine protests for fourth year in a row

For the fourth year in a row, the Annual General Meeting of security company G4S was invaded by demonstrators protesting the company's involvement with Israeli prisons, where Palestinians are allegedly tortured.

Nine protesters were thrown out of the venue after speaking out about the "injustice", shouting: "Who supports the siege in Gaza? G4S does."

At the AGM, held in the ExCel Centre in London, the company confiscated the phones of journalists and shareholders, as they were used to film the violent removal of protesters in 2014.

In that AGM on 5 June, protesters chanted "G4S, shame on you", before being manhandled by security guards. One protester attached herself to a chair and got thrown out by four guards.

Leila White from London Palestine Action said in a statement: "Last year, G4S said it would pull out of its contracts with the Israeli Prison Service but Palestinians are being tortured in apartheid Israel's prisons right now.

"A year has passed but the company has not confirmed that it will get out of Israel or not seek new contracts. While G4S continues to aid Israel's crimes we will continue to disrupt it, oppose it and campaign for boycott and divestment."

Scandal-ridden G4S, which lost £50m ($76.8m, €68.1m) after failing to train and employ enough security guards for the Olympic Games in 2012, saw its share price fall by 1.08% on Thursday (4 June).

After the 2014 protests, the company said it would end its contracts with the Israeli prisons in three years. A G4S spokesman told IBTimes UK: "The G4S board has already announced that the company does not intend to renew these contracts [in Israel] as they expire over the next two years."

Security guards in citizen clothes and in uniform had to interrupt protests in the 2015 AGM several times. General questions from shareholders were also often regarding Israel and G4S failed to navigate the conversation towards its financial performance.