Printed On 7 Sep 2025
Police arrested about 425 individuals at an illustration in assist of Palestine Motion in the UK, within the newest spherical of detentions of its supporters for the reason that pro-Palestinian group was banned by the federal government as a “terrorist” organisation.
Defend Our Juries, the organising marketing campaign, estimated 1,500 individuals joined the London demonstration on Saturday, assembling with placards stating “I oppose genocide, I assist Palestine Motion”.
Police instantly started detentions whereas crowds chanted “Disgrace on you” and “Met Police, decide a aspect, justice or genocide”. Confrontations intensified as officers eliminated nonresistant protesters who turned passive throughout arrest.
Following the eight-hour protest, authorities confirmed greater than 425 arrests, with at the very least 25 individuals dealing with costs of assaulting officers or public order violations, whereas the rest had been held below the Terrorism Act.
The UK-based PA Media reported that police drew their batons throughout the clashes, and one protester was seen with blood streaming down his face behind a barrier after being arrested.
The company additionally reported that police had screaming arguments with demonstrators and had water and plastic bottles thrown at them whereas a number of protesters fell over in a crush at one level.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Sensible mentioned, “In finishing up their duties immediately, our officers have been punched, kicked, spat on, and had objects thrown at them by protesters.” She described the remedy as “insupportable”.
Defend Our Juries disputed the narrative, asserting that police initiated the aggression and calling claims of protester violence “frankly laughable”.
Earlier, associated demonstrations had resulted in additional than 700 arrests, of which 138 people had been charged below the Terrorism Act.
Mike Higgins, a 62-year-old blind wheelchair consumer beforehand arrested at a protest, returned to reveal on Saturday.
“And I’m a terrorist? That’s the joke of it,” he mentioned. “I’ve already been arrested below the Terrorism Act, and I believe I shall be immediately.
“After all I’ll maintain coming again. What selection do I’ve?”
The United Nations human rights chief has criticised the British authorities’s strategy, stating the brand new regulation “misuses the gravity and affect of terrorism”.
The classification of Palestine Motion as a terrorist organisation “raises critical issues that counterterrorism legal guidelines are being utilized to conduct that’s not terrorist in nature, and dangers hindering the respectable train of elementary freedoms throughout the UK”, Volker Turk warned.
He additional famous that by worldwide requirements, “terrorist” acts needs to be restricted to crimes corresponding to these supposed to trigger dying or critical harm or the taking of hostages.
Huda Ammori, Palestine Motion’s cofounder, denounced the federal government’s ban as “catastrophic” for civil liberties, making a “a lot wider chilling impact on freedom of speech”.
The organisation has acquired assist from notable cultural figures, together with bestselling Irish writer Sally Rooney, who acknowledged she deliberate to make use of the proceeds of her work “to maintain backing Palestine Motion and direct motion in opposition to genocide”.
Israel strongly rejects accusations of committing genocide, although quite a few international locations, rights teams and students have confirmed it’s finishing up a transparent and systematic genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
The federal government emphasised that designating Palestine Motion as a “terrorist” group doesn’t affect different lawful organisations — together with pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel voices — campaigning or peacefully protesting.
A separate pro-Palestinian march in London on Saturday attracted roughly 20,000 members, in accordance with police estimates.
