They are currently in custody for questioning
Police at the scene in Manchester on Saturday
More than a dozen people were arrested today at a Manchester protest in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action.
Posts on social media showed a group sat on the floor next to the Mahatma Ghandi statue, off Deansgate near Manchester Cathedral in the city centre, this afternoon (Saturday, July 19).
They held placards which read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Greater Manchester Police said in a statement afterwards: “We have arrested 16 people on suspicion of support of a proscribed organisation contrary to Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
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“They remain in custody for questioning at this time.”
They are among dozens of arrests made across the country.
Similar demonstrations were held in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Truro on Saturday as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries.
Officers at a demo in Parliament Square in London(Image: Getty Images)
The Metropolitan Police said 55 people were arrested in Parliament Square under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action.
The force said a further eight people were arrested for supporting Palestine Action within a separate large-scale march to Whitehall on Saturday by the Palestine Coalition.
Avon and Somerset Police said 17 people were arrested during a protest in Bristol. Eight people were also arrested near Truro Cathedral in Cornwall.
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A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said: “Just a few weeks ago, being arrested under the Terrorism Act was the stuff of nightmares.
“Now it’s a badge of honour that people are wearing with pride – the mark of resistance to genocide and standing firm for our democratic freedoms.”
The move to ban the organisation came after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused about £7 million worth of damage.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action three days later, saying that the vandalism of the planes was ‘disgraceful’ and the group had a ‘long history of unacceptable criminal damage.’
The demos took place ahead of a ahead of a High Court hearing on Monday in which the co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, will ask for the green light to challenge the Home Secretary’s decision to ban the group under anti-terror laws.