The Metropolitan Police in London have arrested at least 365 people at a protest in support of the group Palestine Action, which was classified as a “terror organisation” by the British government last month. The arrests were made at Parliament Square on Saturday, with police citing “support for a proscribed organisation” as the reason for the detentions.
Videos shared on social media showed police removing protesters who had been seated across the square, holding signs reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”. The protesters were demonstrating against the government’s ban on Palestine Action, a move critics say infringes on freedom of speech and the right to protest. “The people are collectively opposing the genocide in Gaza and the Palestine Action ban,” Defend our Juries, an advocacy group that organised the protest, wrote on X.
Critics of the ban argue that it stifles freedom of speech and assembly, and aims to curb pro-Palestine demonstrations. Under the Terrorism Act 2000, membership in or support for the group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Reporting from Parliament Square on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego said the threat of arrest or punishment “hasn’t deterred any supporters” of Palestine Action from expressing their backing for the group. “Something as simple as wearing a t-shirt saying, ‘I support Palestine Action’, or even having that written on a sheet of paper” could lead to an arrest, Gallego said.
In advance of Saturday’s protest, more than 200 people had been detained in a wave of demonstrations across the United Kingdom denouncing the ban since it came into force in July. More than 350 academics from around the world signed onto an open letter this week applauding a “growing campaign of collective defiance” against the decision by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to proscribe Palestine Action. The signatories “deplore the repressive consequences that this ban has already had, and are especially concerned about the likely impact of Cooper’s ban on universities across the UK and beyond”, the letter read.
Amnesty International UK has condemned the arrest of peaceful protesters solely for holding signs, saying such action constitutes “a violation of the UK’s international obligations to protect the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”. John McDonnell, a Labour Party MP, also condemned the arrests at Parliament Square on Saturday. “It’s a disgrace that people are being arrested for upholding our democratic rights,” he wrote on X.
Palestine Action has increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in the UK, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment. The group accuses the UK’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza, where Israel’s bombardment and blockade have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians since October 2023. Manaal Siddiqui, a spokesperson for Palestine Action, told Al Jazeera that the aircraft “can be used to refuel and have been used to refuel Israeli fighter jets”.