SAEDNEWS: Anger is mounting over the U.K.’s ban on Palestine Action that has been met with fierce criticism from various quarters, including U.N. experts and civil liberties organizations.
British police have arrested dozens more pro-Palestine activists during a new protest against a ban on Palestine Action, a group known for its protests against arms companies linked to Israel, particularly those involved in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
According to media reports, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that 46 people were arrested after activists descended on Parliament Square on Saturday, for the second week in a row, to rail against the proscription of the anti-Israel group.
The police claimed they had explicitly warned that supporting Palestine Action was a criminal offence after a similar demonstration last weekend resulted in the arrest of 29 people.
A campaign group, Defend Our Juries, had organized the demonstration, which saw two small groups sitting at the steps of both the Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela statues in Parliament Square, carrying Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against genocide.
“I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” was seen written on pieces of cardboard held by some of the protesters, surrounded by the Met. officers.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favor of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe the group under the Terrorism Act 2000, which was also approved by the House of Lords.
Accordingly, membership of and support for Palestine Action became a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years behind bars, a move U.N. experts, civil liberties organizations, cultural figures, and hundreds of lawyers have condemned as “draconian.”
Palestine Action had filed an “urgent appeal” for a judicial review to overturn the order, but the court rejected a last-minute challenge.
