A LEAKED document has left the UK Government’s case for banning Palestine Action under terror laws in tatters, it has been claimed.
Blogger and activist Craig Murray has obtained and published an abridged version of the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre’s (JTAC) assessment for proscribing the group under the Terrorism Act.
The former diplomat said that the report, prepared to set out the UK Government’s case for the ban, showed that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper “had consistently lied about Palestine Action in a panicked attempt to defend the proscription”.
He said that her central claims, including that the group were “violent”, were not backed up by the JTAC report.
The report, a “gisted” form of the full document used in court proceedings, does make allegations that Palestine Action members have committed violent crimes, but Murray (below) points out that it fails to mention that these are “hotly denied and subject to trial”.
He added that the report, condensed to protect the anonymity of its sources, “makes plain that government ministers are simply lying about their information”.
The report focuses on an incident in Filton, near Bristol, earlier this year where Palestine Action members blockaded the entrance of the UK headquarters of Elibt Systems, an Israeli weapons firm which was the focus of much of the group’s attention.
It appears that the document makes reference to details of activists’ alleged crimes, however, Murray said he had redacted this section “because it is the subject of an upcoming trial and publication would be in contempt of court”.
He added: “The blanked-out sections take police allegations entirely as fact, even though they are hotly denied and subject to trial.”
Elsewhere in the report, Palestine Action members’ “assault against persons” is referenced, though the circumstances are not made clear.
An incident in Glasgow is referred to, which was referenced in the Home Secretary's statement to Parliament setting out the reasons for the proscription, but the crimes are described only as “serious property damage”.
Cooper’s (above) statement referred to the activists’ “violent crimes”.
Murray argued that if Palestine Action had, as has been claimed or implied by Government ministers and officials, deliberately attacked people, received foreign funding, attacked “random” Jewish businesses, or planned a “big terrorist act”, then the JTAC document “would say so”.
“It says nothing of the sort,” he added.
“Palestine Action is what it says it is: a non-violent direct action group which targets the Israeli weapons industry and its support and supply line.
“It states that its actions are not terrorism but direct action to prevent Genocide – and when given the chance, juries have usually sided with Palestine Action against the government.”
The Home Office was approached for comment.
