UK Police Again Arrested Over 425 People For Protesting The Government Banning Palestine Action As "Terrorist”
Videos and reports from the demonstration showed police arresting several elderly protesters, some in wheelchairs or disabled.
The UK police again arrested more than 425 people, many of whom are elderly, for protesting the government banning Palestine Action as a terrorist group.
Palestine Action is a pro-Palestine group founded in 2020 that uses non-violent direct action to disrupt the arms industry in the UK, which supplies the Israeli army with weapons used in its genocide in Gaza.
The group most frequently targets British factories linked to Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.
On July 5, after Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton, a Royal Air Force base, and sprayed paint on the engines of two military planes, the UK government banned the group as a terrorist organization, making it illegal for people in the UK to be a member of or support Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act of 2000.
People found guilty of supporting Palestine Action will face penalties of up to 14 years in prison, similar to showing support for groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda.
On Saturday, Sept. 6 , around 1,500 people gathered in Parliament Square, central London, in a rally organized by Defend Our Juries to call on the government to “lift the ban” on Palestine Action.
Protesters held signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action” and “Protest is not terrorism.”
The Metropolitan Police then started cracking down on protesters, arresting and dragging them for peacefully holding signs.
Videos and reports from the demonstration showed police arresting several elderly protesters, some in wheelchairs or disabled.
Among those arrested were Mike Higgins, a 62-year-old blind man who uses a wheelchair and 83-year-old Reverend Sue Parfitt, who had both been arrested in another protest supporting Palestine Action on Aug. 12.
The protest on Aug. 12 saw police arrest 542 people, almost half of them aged over 60, including dozens in their 70s and 80s.
The latest protest ended after eight hours and after police arrested more than 425 people.
Amnesty International condemned the police crackdown and criticized the UK terrorism law for being “a threat to freedom of expression.”
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
