The UK government’s ban on Palestine Action limits the rights and freedoms of people in the UK and is at odds with international law, the UN human rights chief has said.
Volker Türk, the UN human rights commissioner, said ministers’ decision to designate the group a terrorist organisation was “disproportionate and unnecessary” and called on them to rescind it.
In a statement on Friday, he said the ban amounted to an “impermissible restriction” of people’s rights to freedom of expression and assembly that was “at odds with the UK’s obligations under international human rights law”.
He added that the decision restricted the rights of people involved with Palestine Action “who have not themselves engaged in any underlying criminal activity but rather exercised their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association”.
Türk said it could “lead to further chilling effect on the lawful exercise of these rights by many people” and that the UK government should halt any police and legal proceedings against protesters who have been arrested on the basis of the proscription.
The Guardian has contacted the Home Office for comment.
Dozens of people have been arrested for holding placards in support of Palestine Action since the group was proscribed on 5 July.
In a case reported by the Guardian on Thursday, an 80-year-old woman from Somerset was arrested for holding a placard at a pro-Palestine rally and was held by police for almost 27 hours, with officers forcing their way into her house and searching it.
Marianne Sorrell said she felt “very traumatised” after officers removed 19 items from her home, including iPads, a Palestine flag, books on Palestine, material related to Extinction Rebellion and the climate crisis, as well as drumsticks for – and a belt that holds – her samba drum.
In another case, armed police threatened to arrest Laura Murton, 42, in Kent, for supporting a proscribed organisation because she was holding a Palestinian flag and had signs saying “Free Gaza” and “Israel is committing genocide”.
Several UN experts, civil liberties groups, cultural figures and hundreds of lawyers have condemned the ban as draconian and said it sets a dangerous precedent by conflating protest with terrorism. Concern has also been expressed by some Home Office staff.
Ministers proscribed the group under the Terrorism Act 2000 after some of its members broke into a military airfield in June and spray-painted two RAF aircraft. The ban means that being a member of Palestine Action or inviting support for it carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Palestine Action is the first direct action protest group to be banned under the Terrorism Act, placing it in the same category as Islamic State, al-Qaida and the far-right group National Action.
The security minister Dan Jarvis said: “Freedom to protest lawfully is a cornerstone of our democracy.
“Protest in support of Palestinians, waving a Palestine flag or expressing views about the current, horrifying situation in Gaza is lawful.
“The proscription order is specific to the support of Palestine Action only, which has orchestrated a campaign of criminality on Britain’s streets, including attacks on national security infrastructure and demonstrating a willingness to use violence to cause injury.”
