POLICE Scotland may have breached people’s human rights with arrests at pro-Palestine demonstrations, the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has warned.
The chair of the commission, a public body accountable to the Scottish Parliament, has written to both the Lord Advocate and the Chief Constable raising concerns around the policing of protests since the UK Government proscribed Palestine Action as a terror group.
The Labour Government’s move, which is facing a challenge in the courts, means it is now a criminal offence to support or be a member of Palestine Action, which is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
However, Professor Angela O’Hagan, the SHRC chair, has warned that policing of the proscribed group may be putting people’s human rights at risk.
“It is vital that Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service remember that there are very narrow circumstances under which political speech and ideas can be lawfully restricted, under European Convention on Human Rights [ECHR],” O’Hagan said.
“Whether the proscription of Palestine Action amounts to a justified interference is a matter for the courts and UK Parliament. However, the proscription should not and does not inhibit the right to peaceful protest.
“There is a difference between support for a proscribed organisation and support for a political or moral viewpoint. Law enforcement that does not recognise this distinction is a risk to human rights.
“We urge Police Scotland to issue clear guidance to officers on the need for proportionality in their policing.”
As The National has reported, activists in Scotland have been charged under terror laws for allegedly supporting Palestine Action.
In one incident outside TRSNMT festival in July, a man was charged for wearing a T-shirt produced by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign which read “Genocide in Palestine time to take action”.
In her letter, which Justice Secretary Angela Constance has also been sent, O’Hagan states: “The SHRC is concerned that the application of the Terrorism Act 2000 in some of these arrests risks disproportionately restricting the right to peaceful protest, which is guaranteed by Articles 10 and 11 of the ECHR.
“The right to free expression is protected by Article 10 ECHR. It protects the right to hold opinions and exchange and impart information, including the expression element of peaceful protest. This protection extends to speech that may be found offensive, shocking or disturbing.
“Article 11 protects the right to assembly and association. This protects the right to peaceful assembly, and it cannot be interpreted restrictively.
“In essence, this means that peaceful protest is highly likely to be covered regardless of the topic of concern.”
“Likewise, the policing of any protest engages the right to free assembly under Article 11 and therefore must be done in a proportionate manner.
She added: “The SHRC is concerned that strict oversight and explicit proportionality assessment must be applied to operational decision-making in order to take proper account of the necessary limitations on interference with rights, and to draw a reasonable distinction between support for a proscribed organisation and support for a political or moral viewpoint, which otherwise may pose a risk to human rights.”
It comes after the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, warned that Labour’s proscription of Palestine Action raised “serious concerns that counter-terrorism laws are being applied to conduct that is not terrorist in nature and risks hindering the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms across the UK”.
Türk called on the UK Government to “review and revise its counter-terrorism legislation, including its definition of terrorist acts, to bring it fully in line with international human rights norms and standards”.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We have a legal duty to protect the rights of people who wish to peacefully protest or counter-protest.
“It is an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 to be a member of a proscribed organisation or to invite or express support for them. This includes wearing clothing or carrying any item in public in such a way as to arouse suspicion that they are a member of, or a supporter of a proscribed organisation.
“We are working closely with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Where police consider there is a sufficiency of evidence, they submit reports to the Procurator Fiscal. The fiscal will then consider whether there is enough evidence in law and decides what action, if any, to take in the public interest.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “It is important that we live in a society where people have the right to protest, campaign and express their views in a democratic, respectful and lawful manner.
“The decision to proscribe an organisation is reserved to the UK Government. The operational policing of any proscription is a matter for Police Scotland and decisions on prosecutions are for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.”
