Police arrest 14 activists at London protest marking Palestine Action ban

Police arrested 14 activists in central London on Saturday after they staged a protest marking one year since Palestine Action was banned, inviting officers to join the proscribed group.

Standing outside New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, activists from Defend Our Juries handed out leaflets urging serving officers to join Palestine Action.

Police arrested the demonstrators under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act, which criminalises inviting support for a proscribed organisation and carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

The arrests mark an escalation in the policing of the campaign.

At previous Defend Our Juries protests, police largely relied on Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, which makes it an offence to display items or symbols that arouse reasonable suspicion of support for a proscribed organisation, after demonstrators held placards expressing support for Palestine Action.

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Among those arrested on Saturday was Reverend Sue Parfitt, an 83-year-old Anglican priest and long-time peace campaigner.

Defend Our Juries said it organised the protest to mark one year since it launched its “Saving Lives is Not Terrorism” campaign, which it says has led to more than 3,500 arrests under terrorism legislation.

“This action marks a substantial escalation in the campaign, Saving Lives is Not Terrorism,” a spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said.

“It may seem tongue-in-cheek to invite the police to join Palestine Action, but the police haven’t seen the funny side. They have arrested everyone under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act. Fourteen years in prison is no joke.”

The spokesperson urged police to investigate the British operations of Elbit Systems, which the group describes as a major supplier of drones to the Israeli military, rather than arrest pro-Palestine protesters.

“The ongoing attempt to silence peaceful opposition to genocide will continue to backfire,” the spokesperson said. “Britain is a country full of decent people, appalled by Israel’s crimes against humanity. The more the Labour government uses repression to mask its complicity, the faster the resistance movement grows.”

The protest continues a year-long campaign in which Defend Our Juries has repeatedly challenged the government’s decision to ban Palestine Action by encouraging supporters to risk arrest in public acts of civil disobedience.

The Metropolitan Police had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

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