{"id":332112,"date":"2025-08-10T03:08:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T03:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/332112\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T03:08:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T03:08:14","slug":"why-uk-police-arrested-466-people-at-protest-for-banned-palestine-action-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/332112\/","title":{"rendered":"Why UK police arrested 466 people at protest for banned Palestine Action group"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Police have arrested 466 people in London for supporting Palestine Action at the most recent protest backing the group since the UK government banned it under anti-terrorism laws.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The Met Police said the protesters were arrested for supporting a proscribed organisation, and the number of arrests was the largest it had made on a single day in the past decade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">There were also eight arrests for other offences, including five for assaults on officers, although no one was seriously injured, police said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Politicians in the UK banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members <a class=\"Link_link__kR0xA Link_link__5eL5m ScreenReaderOnly_srLinkHint__OysWz Link_showVisited__C1Fea Link_showFocus__ALyv2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2025-06-21\/pro-palestinian-activists-damage-planes-at-uk-military-base\/105444326\" data-component=\"Link\" data-uri=\"coremedia:\/\/article\/105444326\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes<\/a> as part of a series of protests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The group accuses Britain&#8217;s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"three police officers detain an elderly woman who was protesting in london\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2849110518804690006b68b9938bf676\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Police officers detained an 89-year-old protester during the rally. (Reuters: Jaimi Joy)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Its co-founder, Huda Ammori, won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Critics, including the United Nations and groups such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace, have condemned the move as a legal overreach and a threat to free speech.<\/p>\n<p>How long can protesters be sentenced?<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The ban makes it a crime to be a member of Palestine Action, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">It comes under the UK&#8217;s Terrorism Act 2000, and it states a person commits an offence if the person &#8220;expresses an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">It goes on to state:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"Blockquote_blockquote__YVWQm ContentAlignment_marginBottom__4H_6E ContentAlignment_overflowAuto__c1_IL\" data-component=\"Blockquote\">\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable if:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ContentAlignment_marginBottom__4H_6E ContentAlignment_overflowVisible__N2zKU\">\n<li>(a)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [14] years, to a fine or to both, or<\/li>\n<li>(b)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">In a post on X, the Met Police said, &#8220;anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestinian Action was either arrested or in the process of being arrested&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Psychotherapist Craig Bell, 39, was among those holding a placard at the latest event. He said the ban was &#8220;absolutely ridiculous&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;When you compare Palestine Action with an actual terrorist group who are killing civilians and taking lives, it&#8217;s just a joke that they&#8217;re being prescribed a terrorist group,&#8221; he told AFP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Protesters, some wearing black and white scarves and waving Palestinian flags, chanted &#8220;hands off Gaza&#8221; and held placards with the message &#8220;I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action&#8221; at the event.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">The crowd chanted &#8220;shame on you&#8221; at the police.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">A group called Defend Our Juries, which organised Saturday&#8217;s protests and previous demonstrations against the ban, said &#8220;unprecedented numbers&#8221; had risked &#8220;arrest and possible imprisonment&#8221; to &#8220;defend this country&#8217;s ancient liberties&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;We will keep going. Our numbers are already growing for the next wave of action in September,&#8221; it added.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Protesters hold signs during a rally that say &quot;i oppose genocide&quot;\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/5443c3c007cd19fa1b610bae5e7a0639\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">Protesters who held signs like this were arrested. (Reuters: Jaimi Joy)<\/p>\n<p>Who has condemned the ban on Palestinian Action?<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Police forces across the UK have made scores of similar arrests since the government outlawed Palestine Action on July 5.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">UN Human Rights chief Volker T\u00fcrk said the ban was &#8220;disproportionate and unnecessary&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;It appears to constitute an impermissible restriction on those rights that is at odds with the UK&#8217;s obligations under international human rights law,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Police announced this week that the first three people had been charged in the English and Welsh criminal justice system with supporting Palestine Action following their arrests at a July 5 demonstration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Seven people have so far been charged in Scotland, which has a separate legal system.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"three police officers detain a woman protester during a rally in london, she is holding a palestinian action support placard\" class=\"Image_image__5tFYM ContentImage_image__DQ_cq\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/7e7e5684ba6cf400847c7805beacb0b8\" loading=\"lazy\" data-component=\"Image\" data-lazy=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"Typography_base__sj2RP FigureCaption_text__zDxQ5 Typography_sizeMobile12__w_FPC Typography_lineHeightMobile20___U7Vr Typography_regular__WeIG6 Typography_colourInherit__dfnUx\" data-component=\"Typography\">The United Nations and Amnesty International have condemned the ban and the arrests. (Reuters: Jaimi Joy)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">Amnesty International UK chief executive Sacha Deshmukh wrote to Met Police chief Mark Rowley this week, urging restraint to be exercised when policing people expressing support for Palestine Action.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence, and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;We have long criticised UK terrorism law for being excessively broad and vaguely worded and a threat to freedom of expression.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">&#8220;The arrest of otherwise peaceful protesters is a violation of the UK&#8217;s international obligations to protect the rights of freedom of expression and assembly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\">A UK court challenge against the decision to proscribe Palestine Action will be heard in November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph_paragraph__iYReA\"><strong>Wires<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police have arrested 466 people in London for supporting Palestine Action at the most recent protest backing the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[119165,64116,748,393,4884,119166,257,1144,83400,529,18744,712,16,10788,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-332112","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-anti-terror-laws","10":"tag-arrests","11":"tag-britain","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-huda-ammori","15":"tag-london","16":"tag-northern-ireland","17":"tag-palestine-action","18":"tag-police","19":"tag-protest","20":"tag-scotland","21":"tag-uk","22":"tag-uk-government","23":"tag-united-kingdom","24":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115002271679609237","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}