LONDON: Amnesty International has warned London’s Metropolitan Police to avoid arresting protesters who show support for the banned group Palestine Action, The Guardian reported.
It comes ahead of a major protest planned for this Saturday in London, and as the number of people prosecuted for showing support for the organization continues to grow.
Three people who were arrested in Westminster in July and charged with showing support for a proscribed organization are due to appear in court on Sept. 16. Since Palestine Action was proscribed on July 5, police across the UK have arrested 221 people for suspected offenses under the Terrorism Act.
The pro-Palestinian group was listed as a terrorist organization after breaking into an RAF airbase on June 20 and damaging aircraft.
The protest in support of the group this weekend will take place in Parliament Square, central London. The organizer, pressure group Defend Our Juries, has requested that protesters hold signs saying: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
Dominic Murphy, the chief of the Metropolitan Police’s counterterrorism unit, cautioned people against showing support for the group.
“I would strongly advise anyone planning to come to London this weekend to show support for Palestine Action to think about the potential criminal consequences of their actions,” he said.
In a letter to London’s police chief, Mark Rowley, Amnesty International UK called for officers to show “restraint” during Saturday’s protest.
Signed by CEO Sacha Deshmukh, it said any arrests of peaceful protesters simply for holding placards would violate the UK’s international obligations to protect freedom of expression and assembly.
“As such, we urge you to instruct your officers to comply with the UK’s international obligations and act with restraint in their response to any such protests that occur, by not arresting protesters who are merely carrying placards that state they oppose genocide and support Palestine Action,” it added.
On Wednesday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who was responsible for proscribing the group, said she did so after a “unanimous recommendation by the expert cross-government proscription review group.”
She added: “It also follows disturbing information referencing planning for further attacks, the details of which cannot yet be publicly reported due to ongoing legal proceedings.
“Those who seek to support this group may yet not know the true nature of the organization. But people should be under no illusion — this is not a peaceful or nonviolent protest group.”
