Four released after occupation of oligarch Oleg Deripaska’s UK mansion

theguardian.com:

Four people arrested over the occupation of the mansion of the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in Belgravia, London on Monday have been released under investigation.

Four others arrested at the scene for trespassing on the nearby “premises of a foreign mission” and taken into custody have also been released under investigation.

The releases come as concerns mount about the scale of the police operation against the four unarmed squatters. Dozens of police, including several vans of Territorial Support Group officers, uniformed officers, officers carrying riot shields and police negotiators, attended. A JCB cherrypicker was repeatedly raised to the balcony of Deripaska’s home where the four squatters were protesting and then lowered again after they refused the police negotiators’ requests for them to come down.

Police wearing riot gear used a drill to break open the front door and enter the house.

Officers cordoned off a large part of Belgrave Square during the incident, with traffic diverted from the area.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said he was “surprised” that police intervened when squatters occupied a mansion owned by a Russian oligarch subject to sanctions, suggesting it was “unclear” why officers had become involved.

The Labour politician said he did not “condone” the actions taken by the squatters but questioned whether the police move against them had been “proportionate”.

The squatters hung the Ukrainian flag from the balcony and banners that stated: “This property has been liberated,” and “Putin go fuck yourself.”

They also issued a statement expressing their desire to use the mansion to accommodate Ukrainian and other refugees.

“As always with wars, empires benefit and common people pay the price,” the