Police arrested a number of demonstrators outside the Labour Party conference on Sunday during a protest in support of Palestine Action. More than 250 protesters sat outside the conference centre in Liverpool, many holding home-made banners which read: "I support Palestine Action", the banned group.
Scores of police stood by before moving in to start making arrests, telling protesters they were holding up a sign supporting a proscribed organisation. After asking if they were going to continue holding up the signs, police led people away, telling them they had been arrested under the Terrorism Act.
Criticism from Amnesty International
The arrests, which continued for hours, were criticised by Amnesty International, calling them a "shameful attack on freedom of speech". Kerry Moscogiuri, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said: "Protesting is one of the most effective tools we have to make our leaders listen to us, but we have seen consecutive Governments crackdown on our right to do it."
"The arrests of grandparents, teenagers and everyone in between for holding placards outside the Labour Party conference are a truly shameful attack on freedom of speech."
Organiser response
A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries, which organised the protest, said: "We had hoped the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, would do the sensible thing and bin the ban on Palestine Action given the weight of public pressure to do so and the escalating amount of resources required in enforcing it."
"Continuing the charade of the proscription of Palestine Action is illogical, unsustainable and immoral. Hundreds of people, from professions including teachers, pensioners, and healthcare workers, are willing to be arrested today to let Andy Burnham know that it is not enough just to say that Israel is committing war crimes including ethnic cleansing in Gaza, he must take meaningful action to end UK complicity with Israel's crimes."
"The first step the PM could do today, from the podium of his inaugural party conference is to commit to ending the prosecution and jailing of people as terrorists just for standing up against war crimes and genocide."
Protest atmosphere
Demonstrators cheered every time someone was carried away by police, chanting "free, free Palestine".
