Twelve Arrests at London Al-Quds Day Protests Expose Deep Iranian Community Rifts
Twelve individuals were arrested during rival Al-Quds Day demonstrations in London, as hundreds gathered on opposite banks of the Thames, exposing bitter divisions within the Iranian community in the UK. The Metropolitan Police deployed at least 1,000 officers to maintain separation between the protests, with Lambeth Bridge closed throughout Sunday afternoon to prevent clashes.
Police Investigation into Chants and Proscribed Organisation Support
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan confirmed the arrests were made for offences including showing support for a proscribed organisation, affray, and threatening or abusive behaviour. Police are also investigating chants led by Bobby Vylan, whose real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, at the pro-Palestinian Al-Quds protest. Vylan, a member of the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan, led chants of "death, death to the IDF," echoing similar incidents at last year's Glastonbury festival that resulted in a police investigation concluding with no further action.
Home Secretary Imposes Marching Ban for First Time Since 2012
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood granted a police request to ban Al-Quds protesters from marching, marking the first such prohibition since 2012. Mahmood stated she expected "the full force of the law applied to anyone spreading hatred and division instead of exercising their right to peaceful protest." Police warned demonstrators on the Albert Embankment that displaying placards, flags, or chanting that crossed into hate crime or support for proscribed organisations would result in arrests.
Counterprotest Organised by Stop the Hate and Lion Guard of Iran
Across the Thames at Millbank, a heavy police presence monitored a counterprotest co-organised by Stop the Hate and the Lion Guard of Iran group. Some counterprotesters carried both Israeli flags and pre-1979 Iranian flags to show support for Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran's former pro-western monarch. The Al-Quds demonstration, named after the Arabic term for Jerusalem and established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after Iran's 1979 revolution, saw some participants carrying placards of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, or his predecessor Ali Khamenei.
Personal Stories Highlight Community Tensions
Georgie Stagg, a 70-year-old retired arts administrator from Lewisham wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh, was moved on by police while passing the pro-Israeli demonstration. Stagg, who has attended Al-Quds Day marches for 40 years, criticised government restrictions on protest placards and chants, stating: "You can't criticise the Iranian government for being anti-democratic when we've got a government here that's arresting people holding placards."
Raham Moshami, 52, who fled Iran in 2010 after being tortured in jail, showed scars on her forehead as evidence while protesting with the pro-Israeli group. She described the Iranian government as "like a cancer" and dismissed Al-Quds demonstrators as being in the pay of the Iranian government, though she offered no evidence for this claim.
Al-Quds Protesters Defend Their Position
Fereydun Bahrami, 71, travelled from Glasgow with 50 other Iranians to join the Al-Quds protest organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission. Carrying a placard reading "Stop Using UK bases to bomb Iran," Bahrami described the counterprotesters as "brainwashed to support Israel, rather than their families under bombardment." He objected to government characterisations of the demonstration as a hate march, stating: "This is a love walk, how can it be a hate march? We love human beings. We love Jewish people."
Salma, 60, a London freight company worker, supported Iranian retaliation against targets in the Gulf, arguing: "Fighting back and standing up to the Americans is right – Trump had no right to go in and take out an 86-year-old leader."
Police Declare Operation Successful Despite Lower Attendance
Assistant Commissioner Adelekan reported that fewer people attended than anticipated due to restrictions, with both groups kept apart and no attempts to breach conditions by marching. He stated: "Our policing plan worked, with both groups kept apart and we saw no attempts from either side to breach conditions by marching. Both sets dispersed as planned from 1500 hours." The rival demonstrations highlighted profound divisions within the UK's Iranian community, with one pro-Israeli protester carrying a banner reading: "Qud you take your terrorism and fuck off."
