Arrests have begun at the first mass demonstration opposing the proscription of Palestine Action since the group’s ban was ruled unlawful by the high court. Protesters in London’s Trafalgar Square unveiled signs reading: “I oppose genocide.
I support Palestine Action.” Hundreds of demonstrators sat on camping chairs and on the ground as they held up their placards on Saturday afternoon. At the top of the square, near the National Gallery, large banners were displayed reading: “Jurors deserve to hear the whole truth” and “Israel starves kids”.
Several individuals, including a man and a woman with grey hair, were seen being carried off by officers away from the demonstration. One elderly woman using two walking sticks was escorted by an officer away from the protest in central London.
Shabana Mahmood was given permission to appeal against the high court’s decision. Initially, the Metropolitan police said it would immediately stop arresting people for such offences under the Terrorism Act but would gather evidence for potential future prosecutions.
But after the home secretary was given permission to appeal against the decision the force said it had “revised” its enforcement approach, describing the statement made immediately after the high court’s decision as an “interim position”. In February, the high court said the government’s proscription of the direct action group was “disproportionate and unlawful” and that most of their activities had not reached the level, scale and persistence to be defined as terrorism.