LONDON: The British government was on Wednesday given permission to appeal against a ruling that its ban on pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization was unlawful.
Palestine Action was proscribed in July, having increasingly taken “direct action” against Israel-linked defense companies in Britain, often blocking entrances or spraying red paint.
Palestine Action was banned shortly after a June break-in at the Royal Air Force’s ⁠Brize Norton air ⁠base, in which activists damaged two planes, an action described by Prime Minister Keir Starmer as “disgraceful.”
Lawyers representing Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action in 2020, argued at a hearing last year that the move was an authoritarian ⁠restriction on the right to protest.
London’s High Court ruled this month that the ban was unlawful, ruling that it was a disproportionate interference with free speech rights.
The same court on Wednesday granted Britain’s Home Office interior ministry permission to challenge its ruling, saying the ban would remain in place pending the appeal.
The Home Office said it was pleased it could appeal.
“We ⁠will always ⁠take the strongest possible action to protect our national security and our priority remains maintaining the safety and security of our citizens,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The ruling earlier this month threw into question the prosecution of hundreds of people who had been charged for holding signs in support of the group, and prompted London’s Metropolitan Police to say it would focus on gathering evidence rather than making arrests.