UK seeks to block legal challenge to Palestine Action ‘terrorist’ designation – JURIST
The British government filed to block a legal challenge to UK-based activist group Palestine Action’s designation as a terrorist organization on Thursday.
The UK Home Office submitted the request to divert a High Court decision from July that approved group leader Huda Ammori’s request for judicial review before the court. If the block succeeds, judicial review will go through a specialist tribunal as opposed to the High Court.
The group was designated as a terrorist organization under the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000 after group members spray-painted two British aircraft there were allegedly used to transport arms to Israel. The designation makes membership illegal and punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment. Any financial contributions or shows of support were also made illegal. The terrorist designation has been condemned by the UN, UK Members of Parliament, and civil liberties organizations such as the Netpol Lawyers group, which said:
To use the Terrorism Act to ban Palestine Action from direct action would be an abuse of this legislation and an interference with the right to protest. Misusing terrorism legislation in this way against a protest group sets a dangerous precedent, threatens our democratic freedoms, and would be a terrifying blow to our civil liberties.
Since the ban, support for Palestine Action has remained strong with hundreds of arrests at various protests and displays of solidarity. Over 1,600 people have been arrested since the ban, including 857 at a non-violent demonstration earlier this month where police arrested demonstrators for holding signs with slogans such as: “I oppose genocide—I support Palestine Action” and “Free Gaza.” Many in the government have criticized police conduct as excessive. The status of those arrested remains in limbo while the challenge progresses with an unclear timeline.
Palestine Action was founded in 2020 as a direct action, pro-Palestine activist group that rejects the UK’s perceived complicity in Israel’s actions in Gaza–a conflict that a UN commission labeled a genocide earlier this month. The group has claimed responsibility for a number of protests, break-ins, and operations to sabotage Israeli-based defense contractor Elbit Systems.
In July, co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, challenged the designation as a disproportionate infringement on the right to protest and freedom of expression. Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the UK’s Human Rights Act 1998 as well as Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and the right to protest is guaranteed in Article 11 of the ECHR.
