SCOTTISH activist Sean Clerkin has had a “draconian” ban on entering Glasgow city centre revoked.
Clerkin had accepted bail conditions after he was arrested at a pro-Palestine protest in Nelson Mandela Place last month.
He was not to enter the city centre and was to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court on October 7.
Clerkin was arrested for displaying a sign that read: "Genocide in Palestine Time to Take Action". The words Palestine and Action in larger letters.
He was arrested under the Terrorism Act for allegedly showing support for Palestine Action, a group proscribed by the Labour Government.
Clerkin appealed the bail conditions as “excessive and draconian” and said it would interfere with his work as a tenants rights advocate for the Scottish Tenants Organisation.
At Glasgow Sheriff Court on Thursday, the conditions were rescinded. Before any hearing could take place, the Procurator Fiscal depute issued him with a letter.
It stated: “A decision on whether criminal proceedings are appropriate has not yet been taken but I have decided that you do not need to come to Glasgow Sheriff Court on October 7.
“You do not need to appear in court in terms of your undertaking and any additional conditions which you accepted as part of your undertaking will no longer apply from the end of today’s date.”
Outside the court, Clerkin said the decision was a “victory”.
He said: “This is a major victory in the right to protest in a democracy.
"It was a draconian ban and symptomatic of a move towards a police state.
“Everyone who believes in liberal democracy has to stand up.
"It is about ending the genocide in Gaza and stopping children from starving to death.”
He repeated his statement that his protest was about democratic rights.
Clerkin added: “I am not a member of Palestine Action and I do not support the use of criminal damage which they carried out.”
But he said the group should not be proscribed.
He added: “I do not want to see other organisations proscribed who are non-violent direct action.”
