DJs were “humiliated” when the police barred them from performing at the Earth Garden festival last weekend because of previous “minor” drug offences, event organisers say.

They said some five DJs could have had their rights breached when they were not given the clearance to perform due to misdemeanours made years ago.

“This is a major problem. To me it’s disgusting and humiliating. We aren’t talking about traffickers here, for goodness sake. This system of blocking performers because of previous infringements is telling them they might as well stop working once they get caught with some drugs,” one organiser lamented.

An artistic manager contacted by this newspaper said the refusal to grant clearance was a regular practice that had also happened under the previous administration.

Earth Garden’s coordinators explained the police had asked for the list weeks before the popular festival but only communicated their decision as to which DJs could not perform three days before the event.

Some of the DJs, they added, had been targeted by the police due to “small” drug possession offences, some of which dated back more than 20 years.

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