Two prominent leaders in the Palestine solidarity movement in Britain have been found guilty of breaching protest conditions, in what campaigners called a “grotesque” and “shocking” decision. Ben Jamal, 62, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), and Chris Nineham, 63, vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, were convicted at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday for failing to comply with conditions imposed on a protest on 18 January 2025.
Judge Sternberg ruled that the conditions were lawful and necessary, and that both defendants clearly knew them. Jamal was also convicted of two counts of inciting others to breach police conditions, after the judge found his speech at the protest constituted “a suggestion, persuasion, and inducement” encouraging a breach. “Protest rights, while fundamental, are not absolute and do not permit breaching lawfully imposed conditions,” the judge said.
The Metropolitan Police have faced criticism over their handling of the protest, where more than 70 people were arrested. Trade union leaders, legal experts, MPs and peers called for an independent inquiry into what they described as “repressive and heavy-handed policing”. The Met said it imposed conditions due to “the cumulative impact” on Jewish Londoners and the march’s proximity to synagogues, adding that officers believed there was a coordinated effort to breach conditions.
Speaking outside court, former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the verdict was “grotesque” and part of an attempt to “undermine our civil liberties”. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was “absolutely appalled” that the activists were found guilty “of doing no more than standing up for the rights of the Palestinian people”. Nineham described the decision as “an attempt to send a chilling message across society that people shouldn’t be protesting”. Both men said they would appeal.
