Almost a record. On Saturday, 522 supporters of the Palestine Action organization were arrested by the police in London, one of the highest figures ever recorded during a demonstration in the British capital.
Pruits “I oppose the genocide. I support Palestine Action “In their hands, they had answered the call of Defend Our Juries, an organization for the defense of civil rights, to protest against a law prohibiting and classifying Palestine Action as” terrorist organization “.
The police had warned the participants against the “potential criminal consequences” of their actions. But hundreds of people have therefore braved the ban.
What is the Palestine Action group?
The group created in 2020 claims to be a “Propalestinian organization” whose objective, explains Aurélien Antoine, a specialist in the law of British institutions, is “behind the exports of British weapons to Israel”. He practices “direct actions” to “show a disagreement in a violent manner”, underlines this professor of public law.
Among them, the destruction of equipment, the use of red paint as well as the illegal entrance to buildings. Palestine Action has notably taken it several times in Elbit Systems, an Israeli armament company accused of providing weapons used in Gaza and which has two factories on British soil.
The classification as an organization “terrorist”, under the law of 2000 on terrorism, follows acts of vandalism in early June in a British military base. Two activists had then sprayed two planes from the Royal Air Force, to protest against the “support” provided by Great Britain to the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The decree, in early July, also concerned the Russian imperial movement, a paramilitary organization prorussian, and the neonazi group “maniacs murder cult”.
What has this ban changed?
Palestine Action thus joins 83 other groups such as Al-Qaeda, Hamas and National Action, a British far-right group. This allows authorities to “listen to, prohibit demonstrations and make arrests”, explains Aurélien Antoine.
Now membership or support for the organization can be liable to a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.
“There is a criminal law on public order which is much strict than ours,” analyzes Aurélien Antoine, in particular “since September 11, 2001 and even more with the 2005 London attacks”.
The co -founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, obtained, at the end of July the authorization by the High Court of Justice to challenge the decision to prohibit the group. His appeal will be examined in November.
Why is this classification criticized?
The United Nations has judged this decision “disproportionate”, claiming that actions “do not aim to kill or injure people should not be considered as terrorist acts”.
The NGO Amnesty International for its part criticized “British legislation on terrorism that is too vague and too wide”, considering more than arrests, this Saturday, were “a violation of international obligations of the United Kingdom to protect the rights to freedom of expression and meeting”.
On the side of British civil society, academics and writers as well as left -wing Jewish figures denounced the group’s ban.
On Saturday evening, Yvette Cooper, the Minister of the Interior, reaffirmed the choice of government to prohibit Palestine Action. For its part, the group Defend Our Juries, which has organized demonstrations against this ban since early July, says it wants to continue its calls to mobilize. Those who participate in these rallies face up to six months in prison.