More than 200 people arrested at Palestine Action protest in London | UK news

In the first mass demonstration against the ban of Palestine Action, more than 200 people were arrested after the group’s ban was deemed unlawful by the high court.

Hundreds of people gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square and presented banners saying “I am against genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Hundreds of demonstrators sat on camp chairs and the ground Saturday afternoon, unfurling banners. As of 4.50pm, 212 people aged between 27 and 82 had been arrested, the Metropolitan Police said.

Some of those seated with banners were dressed as suffragettes, while others wore masks bearing Keir Starmer’s face. Blind, disabled Mike Higgins, whose arrest was filmed at previous demonstrations sparking outrage, also attended the protest.

At the top of the square, near the National Gallery, hung large banners reading “Jurors deserve to hear the whole truth” and “Israel is starving children.”

Shortly after 1 p.m., police began arresting people on the edges of the demonstration. It was seen that many people were removed from the demonstration by the police. An elderly woman using two canes was escorted away from the protest by a police officer. One woman told officers as she was being led away: “You might be catching the real criminals.”

The Met said 92 people had been arrested as of 2.50pm. Defend Our Juries, which organized the demonstration, said: “The Met is choosing to make the arrest despite the government’s ban on the group having been ruled unlawful by the high court and leading lawyers warning any arrest would be unlawful.”

Former Palestinian Movement member prisoner Qesser Zuhrah, who was on a hunger strike for 48 days, said that the “whole world” was against the ban. UN human rights chief Volker Türk has previously Condemns band’s ‘chilling’ ban.

Zuhrah said: “As former prisoners and hunger strikers, one of the most important reasons today is to defeat the state’s purpose of imprisoning us for 15 months and to ensure that we do not fall into these streets again. That is why we are fighting here and showing that we never give up on our cause despite everything they have put us through.

He added: “This British government is determined to establish that it was not the terrorists who made the weapons but the terrorists who destroyed the weapons, which is madness.

“We believe that those who create weapons and use them to bomb children, mothers, women and men who dream of freedom are terrorists. We also think that those who instigate regional genocide are terrorists,” he said.

Kamran Ahmed, who was on hunger strike for more than 60 days, said: “I’m here to support honest people taking righteous actions against the government.

Ally, a 72-year-old sculptor who attended the demonstration, described the group’s ban as “plainly ridiculous”.

“We’re tired of this, but we’ll keep going until they stop it,” he said. “It’s not just about Palestine Action, a lot of things related to protests are now being shut down. What this government is doing about freedom of expression and the right to protest is starting to be really scary.”

“The government has no support for this. It’s a pretty stupid prescription,” he added.

Andy Simons, 73, retired curator of the British Library, was there to support the participants. He wore a sign around his neck with a picture of a man peering through prison bars. The banner read: “Free, freedom of expression.”

“Freedom of expression is something we should have, as long as there is no violence or anything like that,” Simons said.

Among the demonstrators was Massive Attack musician Robert Del Naja, who sat with a “I Support Palestine Action” banner despite the consequences a possible arrest could have on his music career.

He told the Press Association: “Obviously there was a lot of concern about us not being able to travel as musicians and get a visa.

“But I thought: ‘This is ridiculous,’ and then I thought it was even more ridiculous that the police were making a U-turn again to arrest people.

“So today I’m going to hold a sign.

“If I’m arrested, I feel very confident if I go into court with the right guidance and say, ‘This was an unlawful arrest and therefore I’m not taking it.’

He added: “I think the actions of Palestine Action were deeply patriotic because they largely protected our country from being involved in serious war crimes and breaking international law.

“How much more patriotic can you get than that?”

Shabana Mahmood was given permission to appeal the high court’s decision. Initially, the Metropolitan police said it would immediately stop arresting people for such offenses under the Terrorism Act but would collect evidence for possible future investigations.

But after the home secretary was given permission to appeal the decision, the force said it had “revised” its approach to enforcement, describing the statement made immediately after the high court’s decision as a “temporary stance”.

In February, the high court said the government’s ban on the direct action group was “disproportionate and unlawful” and that most of its activities did not reach the level, scale and persistence to be defined as terrorism.

Mahmood’s appeal to the high court is expected to be heard on April 28 and 29.

Ahead of the demonstration, Met commander Claire Smart said: “Attendees should be aware that showing support for a proscribed organization is an offense under the Terrorism Act and we will not hesitate to take action where the law is broken.

“In previous incidents linked to this group we have seen coordinated attempts to disrupt police activities, including obstructing officers and, at times, verbal or physical abuse. Our officers are trained to deal with these situations proportionately and effectively and we are confident we have the plans and resources in place to respond appropriately, including arrest where necessary.”

In response, Defend Our Juries said of X: “More Met lies. There has not been a single case of prosecution among our supporter base for ‘obstructing officials’ or ‘verbal or physical abuse’.”

“Our actions are peaceful, honorable (at least from our perspective) and completely non-violent.”