Subhead: Human rights organization Amnesty International UK strongly criticized the mass arrests, calling them “a violation of the UK’s international obligations to protect the rights of freedom of expression and assembly.”
London police arrested 466 people on Saturday in central London for expressing support for the recently banned activist group Palestine Action, following the UK government’s decision to outlaw the organization under anti-terrorism laws.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed on X that, as of 9 p.m., 466 arrests had been made specifically for supporting Palestine Action. An additional eight individuals were detained for other offenses, including five for assaulting police officers, though no serious injuries were reported. CNN has published a news on this regard.
Palestine Action is a UK-based pro-Palestinian group that targets companies supplying weapons to Israel. Last month, Parliament officially banned the organization after two of its activists broke into the UK’s largest air base in June, damaging military aircraft.
Under UK law, the ban means it is now illegal to be a member of Palestine Action or to publicly support the group, placing it in the same legal category as banned terrorist organizations like Hamas and al-Qaeda.
On Saturday, large crowds gathered in Parliament Square for a demonstration organized by the campaign group Defend Our Juries, defying the government’s ban. Protesters held signs reading, “I oppose Genocide, I support Palestine Action.” Organizers claimed over a thousand people participated, while police estimated the crowd at around 500–600, including bystanders and media.
An 80-year-old protester from Surrey told she attended to challenge what she called a government “farce.” She said organizers hoped to have at least 500 people sitting peacefully with signs. “I watched a few being carried off by police, but there simply weren’t enough police to arrest all,” she said.
Police said that those arrested were taken to processing centers in the Westminster area. Individuals whose identities could be confirmed were released on bail, with conditions barring them from participating in future protests supporting Palestine Action.
Scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police as officers moved in to detain protestors. In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said, “We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested.”
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper thanked officers for what she described as handling a “very small number of people whose actions crossed the line into criminality.”
“The right to protest is one we protect fiercely,” Cooper said, “but this is very different from displaying support for this one specific and narrow, proscribed organisation.”
Human rights organization Amnesty International UK strongly criticized the mass arrests, calling them “a violation of the UK’s international obligations to protect the rights of freedom of expression and assembly.”
Meanwhile, the legal challenge against the government’s decision continues. Last week, Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori was granted permission by a London High Court judge to pursue a judicial review of the group’s proscription.
