UK Police Arrest 466 People Palestine Action Protest London
Police in London have arrested hundreds of people at a protest in support of the group Palestine Action, which was classified as a ‘terror organisation’ by the British government last month.
Campaign of Defiance
In advance of Saturday’s protest, more than 200 people had been detained in a wave of demonstrations across the UK denouncing the ban since it came into force in July. More than 350 academics from around the world signed onto an open letter this week applauding a ‘growing campaign of collective defiance’ against the decision by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to proscribe Palestine Action.
Amnesty International UK has condemned the arrest of peaceful protesters solely for holding signs, saying such action constitutes ‘a violation of the UK’s international obligations to protect the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly’.
John McDonnell, a Labour Party MP, also condemned the arrests at Parliament Square on Saturday. ‘It’s a disgrace that people are being arrested for upholding our democratic rights,’ he wrote.
The British government issued the ban after Palestine Action broke into a military airbase in June and damaged two Airbus Voyager aircraft, used for air-to-air refuelling.
Manaal Siddiqui, a spokesperson for Palestine Action, told Al Jazeera that the aircraft ‘can be used to refuel and have been used to refuel Israeli fighter jets’.