UK: Protesters prepare to defy Palestine Action ban in shows of support
Activists are set to stage a second wave of protests across the UK this weekend, demanding the government reverse its proscription of the direct action group Palestine Action.
On Saturday, groups of activists will gather for a series of protests coordinated by the campaign group Defend Our Juries (DOJ) in London, Manchester and Cardiff. An independently organised protest will also be staged in Derry in Northern Ireland.
Protesters plan to hold signs reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."
This follows the arrest of 29 people under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, including an 83-year-old retired priest and an emergency worker, for holding the same signs in Parliament Square last weekend.
The participants were detained for 12 hours before being released on bail without charge.
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The government passed legislation banning Palestine Action as a proscribed group on 4 July, making membership of and support for the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
A bid by the group to apply for interim relief to temporarily block the ban pending a judicial review was rejected by the High Court on Friday.
The court's decision was later upheld by the Court of Appeal in a judgement issued less than two hours before the order banning the group was due to take effect at midnight on Saturday.
DOJ said in a statement that Saturday’s protest “will show if the Met will have to adapt its tactics or clamp down even more strongly on any form of dissent”, noting that its actions could incur custodial sentences of up to 14 years.
"People have not been silenced by the arrests last week; they've not been intimidated. So it's quite interestingly poised for Saturday," Tim Crosland, former government lawyer and DOJ activist, told Middle East Eye.
The Metropolitan Police drew widespread criticism over the arrest of 83-year-old Sue Parfitt during Saturday's protest, with Laura Kuenssberg asking Met commissioner Mark Rowley in a BBC interview on Sunday if this was a good use of police time.
"Let's assume that there's more people in Parliament Square tomorrow, and Mark Rowley does the same thing. Spends even more public money on suppressing basic democratic rights, he's going to look like he has tin ears, like he's not listening," Crosland said.
"But if he doesn't do anything, then it looks like the law doesn't mean anything," he added.
"I think Rowley will feel there's a real political danger for him around this, if he just does more of the same. But my guess is there will be more arrests, because it would be too big a climb down."
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement on X : "There are a number of events planned around London this weekend. A reminder Palestine Action is now proscribed by the UK Government and it is a criminal offence to invite or express support for a proscribed organisation. As we saw last week, those who do breach the law will face action".
The tip of the iceberg
Palestine Action's proscription has drawn condemnation from several UN special rapporteurs, multiple NGOs and hundreds of lawyers, who signed two letters to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper from the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) lawyers’ group and the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, warning that the group's ban could set a dangerous precedent.
DOJ said that the protests against the ban are “just the tip of the iceberg”, and that since it has come into force, “people have been taking democracy into their own hands”.
According to the campaign group, 110 people have been arrested for showing support for Palestine Action in the aftermath of the group’s proscription.
Protests have also been staged at British embassies in The Hague, Netherlands, and Copenhagen, Denmark, resulting in dozens of arrests.
Crosland said more protests are expected, with actions scheduled for 21 July to coincide with a court hearing in which Palestine Action will apply for a judicial review of the proscription order.
According to Crosland, increasing numbers of people will be driven to join these actions as they understand that "this is a major moment" extending "way beyond Palestine Action".
"People are watching this and thinking: once you separate the idea of terrorism from violence against the civilian population, and you expand that definition to include people causing economic damage, for example, to Elbit Systems, the defence industry, to people causing embarrassment to the government in its defence strategy - well, then that's all of us, as in, everybody who looks to hold power to account," Crosland said.
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