AT least 55 protesters have been arrested in Westminster as widespread demonstrations calling for a reversal of the decision to proscribe Palestine Action take place.
Metropolitan Police started the arrests on Saturday afternoon, with officers confiscating signs held by protesters which said, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” and searching the bags of those arrested.
Dozens of protesters wrote the same message on white placards and held the signs aloft before being surrounded by police officers at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square.
Some protesters were carried away by officers, while others were led away in handcuffs.
As he was carried away by police, one man said: “Freedom of speech is dead in this country, shame on the Metropolitan Police.”
Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement that around 30 protesters were involved in the “peaceful” Defend Our Juries demonstration.
The force went on: “A number of placards which were contrary to the law remained on display despite police advice.
“Eight people – two men and six women – were arrested on suspicion of offences under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
“They remain in police custody.”
Around 86 arrests were made across the UK last weekend, including one in Glasgow on Friday, for holding similar signs.
It comes ahead of a High Court hearing on Monday in which the co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, will ask for the green light to challenge the Home Secretary’s decision to ban the group under anti-terror laws.
The ban means that membership of, or support for, the direct action group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Several other protests have taken place in the UK on Saturday, including in Edinburgh, Bristol and Manchester.
Deputy assistant commissioner Ade Adelekan, who led the policing operation in Westminster, warned on Friday that his officers will be on alert over the use of chants similar to that of “death to the IDF” led by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury Festival.
He said: “This is also the first large-scale protest on this issue since Glastonbury Festival where offensive chanting led by an artist on one of the stages prompted a police investigation.
“Investigations are also under way, led by Met officers, following similar uses of the same chant in London.”
He went on: “At previous protests, the area between the main march and any counter-protest has seen the most heated exchanges. Officers will be particularly alert to conduct, including chanting, in this area and will be working with stewards to ensure crowds keep moving past this point,” he said.
“Where they become aware of behaviour that crosses the line from protest into criminality, they will intervene and take appropriate action.”
Adelekan said those expressing support for Palestine Action “will likely be committing an offence and will very likely be arrested”.
He added: “I would urge those people to consider the seriousness of being arrested under the Terrorism Act and the very real long-term implications – from travel, to employment, to finances – that such an arrest is likely to have for their future.”
He said the best way for protesters to stay within the law is to avoid “threatening, abusive and insulting language” or any support for banned groups.
