Palestine Action terror ban ruled unlawful by High Court
.jpeg?trim=0,0,0,0&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800&w=780&resize=780,470&ssl=1 "Palestine Action terror ban ruled unlawful by High Court")
Palestine Action’s ban under terrorism legislation has been declared unlawful by the Supreme Court in a humiliating blow to the government, but the ban will remain in place until a further ruling by the courts.
The group’s co-founder, Huda Ammori, took the Ministry of Internal Affairs to court over the decision to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws, with her lawyers saying the move was unprecedented.
Following the ban last July, thousands of people were arrested for holding banners supporting Palestine Action. Hundreds of hearings are expected this year and next for those accused of taking part in the protests, but those cases face being overturned by the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Justice Victoria Sharp told the Supreme Court on Friday that banning Palestine Action “resulted in a very serious interference with the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly”.
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He added that “banning Palestine Action is disproportionate” and said only a very small number of Palestine Action’s activities amounted to terrorism. He said the group’s actions “have not yet reached the level, scale and persistence that would warrant a ban.”
Dame Victoria Sharp, Mr Justice Swift and Mrs Justice Steyn decided that the terrorism ban would remain in place pending further hearings.
Lawyers for Ms Ammori and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have until February 20 to make further submissions to the court ahead of further hearings to decide whether the ban should be lifted.
In their judgment, Dame Victoria Sharp, Mr Justice Swift and Mrs Justice Steyn accepted that the terrorism ban meant people were forced to “self-censor” themselves and change their behavior for fear of breaking the law. They acknowledged that journalists, academics, campaigning and civil liberties organizations could be affected by the far-reaching effects of the ban.
After activists entered the RAF base and damaged two military planes, the then home secretary, Yvette Cooper, decided to ban the group under terrorism laws. Human rights groups condemned the move as a “serious abuse of state power”, and UN high commissioner Volker Turk called the ban “disproportionate and unnecessary”.
During the hearing, Ms. Ammori’s lawyers insisted that Palestine Action did not advocate violence, saying serious instances of violence against property or person “are not the norm, they are rare.”
Ms Ammori argued that the impact of the ban was “dramatic, severe, widespread and potentially lifelong”.
Ms Ammori responded to the news on Friday, saying the decision was “a tremendous victory both for our fundamental freedoms in Britain and for the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom”.
He added: “With the futures of these thousands of people, many of whom are elderly or disabled, facing up to 14 years in prison for this completely peaceful protest, at stake, it would be deeply unfair for the government to seek to delay or stop the Supreme Court decision overturning this ban.”
Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said she was “disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s decision, adding: “I intend to challenge this decision in the Court of Appeal.”
When news of the judges’ decision broke on Friday morning, around a hundred people gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice building in central London and began cheering and chanting “Free Palestine”.
Yasmine Ahmed, UK director of Human Rights Watch, said the decision was “a shot in the arm for British democracy”.
Independent It was revealed yesterday that the Home Office had spent £700,000 in legal fees fighting Ms Ammori’s case.
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