More than 500 people have been arrested at the first mass demonstration opposing the proscription of Palestine Action since the group’s ban was ruled unlawful by the High Court. The Metropolitan Police said 523 individuals were arrested by midnight, with ages ranging from 18 to 87.
Hundreds gathered in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon, holding signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Demonstrators sat on camping chairs and the ground, with some dressed as suffragettes and others wearing masks of Sir Keir Starmer. Large banners near the National Gallery read “Jurors deserve to hear the whole truth” and “Israel starves kids”.
Police began arresting people on the edges of the demonstration shortly after 1pm. Several individuals were carried off by officers, including an elderly woman using two walking sticks. One woman told officers as she was being carried away: “You could be on your way catching real criminals.”
Defend Our Juries, which organised the demonstration, said: “The Met are choosing to make arrests despite the government’s ban on the group being ruled unlawful by the high court, and leading lawyers warning that any arrests would be unlawful.” A spokesperson described the arrests as “truly surreal”.
Former Palestine Action-affiliated prisoner Qesser Zuhrah said: “This British government is hellbent on establishing that the ones that create the weapons are not the terrorists but the ones that destroy the weapons are the terrorists, which is insane.” Another former hunger striker, Kamran Ahmed, said he was there to “support righteous people taking righteous action against the government”.
The High Court ruled the proscription unlawful in February, but Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was granted permission to appeal. The Met initially said it would stop arresting people for such offences under the Terrorism Act but later revised its approach after the appeal was permitted.
