LONDON: Police arrested five “key spokespeople” for an organization campaigning against the UK government’s designation of Palestine Action as a “terrorist group” in “dawn raids” on Tuesday, the group said.
Defend Our Juries has organized several demonstrations against the government’s contentious July 5 Palestine Action ban, leading to hundreds of arrests with police charging scores of people under anti-terror laws.
The campaigners had been due to hold an online press conference later Tuesday ahead of another planned “Lift the Ban” protest in London this weekend, but postponed the briefing after what they called the “dystopian crackdown.”
“Counter-terrorism police arrested five of Defend Our Juries’ key spokespeople in dawn raids in London this morning over Lift the Ban protests,” it said in a statement.
“This is scandalous,” a spokesperson added, calling it “an unprecedented assault on free speech in our country.”
“This level of political repression is not what we expect in a democracy — it’s the kind of tactic typically associated with authoritarian regimes around the world,” the spokesperson said.
London’s Metropolitan Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Defend Our Juries vowed to press ahead with its latest planned demonstration on Saturday in Parliament Square, claiming that 1,000 people had pledged to hold signs saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
More than 700 people who have held up such signs at previous protests over the last two months have been arrested under anti-terror laws for showing support for a proscribed organization.
Police said Monday a further 47 people had been accused of showing support for a banned group, meaning 114 Palestine Action supporters have now been charged with the offense.
The arrests were made under the Terrorism Act 2000, which the government also used to proscribe Palestine Action.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper accuses it of orchestrating “aggressive and intimidatory attacks against businesses, institutions and the public.”
Its outlawing came after the group took responsibility for breaking into a Royal Air Force base in June and spraying two aircraft with red paint, causing an estimated £7 million ($10 million) in damage.
Palestine Action said its activists were protesting Britain’s support for Israel amid the war in Gaza.
Critics, including the United Nations and groups such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace, have condemned the group’s proscription as legal overreach and a threat to free speech.
Critics of Palestine Action ban say ‘key’ figures arrested
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Critics of Palestine Action ban say ‘key’ figures arrested
- Defend Our Juries has organized several demonstrations against the government’s contentious July 5 Palestine Action ban, leading to hundreds of arrests
Australia rejects report it is repatriating families of Daesh militants from Syrian camp
- The return of relatives of suspected Daesh militants is a political issue in Australia, which has seen a surge in popularity of the right-wing
Australia’s center-left government on Sunday rejected a local media report that said it was working to repatriate Australians in a Syrian camp holding families of suspected Daesh militants. The 34 women and children were released on Monday from the camp in northern Syria, but returned to the detention center due to technical reasons. The group is expected to travel to Damascus before eventually returning to Australia, despite objections from ruling and opposition lawmakers.
On Sunday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke rejected claims made in a report in the Sunday Telegraph, asserting that official preparations were under way for the cohort’s return.
“In that report, it makes a claim that we are conducting a repatriation. We are not,” Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television.
“It claims we have been meeting with the states for the purposes of a repatriation. We have not,” Burke added. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who leads Australia’s Labour Party, said this week his government would not help the group return to Australia.
The return of relatives of suspected Daesh militants is a political issue in Australia, which has seen a surge in popularity of the right-wing, anti-immigration One Nation party led by Pauline Hanson.
Daesh, the Sunni Muslim militant group, is listed as a terrorist organization in Australia, with membership of the group punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Australia also has the power to strip dual nationals of citizenship if they are a Daesh member.
