Police prosecute 60 more people for supporting Palestine Action
'We are ready to make swift decisions in all cases where arrests have been made. The public has a democratic right to protest peacefully in this country, and I understand the depth of feeling around the horrific scenes in Gaza. 'However, Palestine Action is now a proscribed terrorist organization and those who have chosen to break the law will be subject to criminal proceedings under the Terrorism Act. 'When protest conduct crosses the line from lawful activity into criminality, we have a duty to enforce the law.
'People should be clear about the real-life consequences for anyone choosing to support Palestine Action. A terrorism conviction can severely impact your life and career – it can restrict your ability to travel overseas and work in certain professions. 'I urge people to think very carefully about their actions at protests. Anyone who chooses to disobey the law will have to face the consequences.' Following the announcement of Friday's prosecutions, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: 'I am proud of how our police and CPS teams have worked so speedily together to overcome misguided attempts to overwhelm the justice system.
'If necessary, we are able to investigate and quickly charge significant numbers of people each week if people want the potentially life-changing consequences of a terrorist conviction'. He assured that the force will continue to police the numerous protests each week where people express their views in support of Palestine without choosing to break Counter Terrorism Laws by supporting proscribed terror groups. 'To be clear, these arrests and prosecutions do not outlaw people's right to demonstrate in support of Palestine, or any other cause,' he said.
'They are simply the enforcement of a specific provision under the Terrorism Act in relation to a specific proscribed terrorist organization, Palestine Action. 'Where officers see these offenses, we will continue to make arrests and, as shown today, the CPS and police will work to quickly secure charges, at whatever scale is necessary'. He explained that the consequences for those charged under the Terrorism Act include a maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) having a record of a person's TACT conviction which will be seen by employers who use DBS to carry out checks on staff or new applicants.
On Saturday, August 9, during a day of mayhem and farce, Left-wing protesters swamped London's Parliament Square in support of the organization , which was proscribed by the Government last month as a terrorist group. Hundreds held placards declaring 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action' in deliberate 'idiotic' acts of law-breaking designed to overwhelm police resources and the courts. On Saturday, the Met Police announced that more than 360 people had been detained following the scenes of disorder - at an estimated cost of about £3million.
Protesters were accused of a 'colossal' waste of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money after seemingly getting deliberately arrested by officers. However, in an update on Sunday afternoon, the Met said the number of total arrests had skyrocketed to 532 - with 522 of these being for people allegedly displaying placards supporting the proscribed terror group. One of those arrests took place at the form up of the Palestine Coalition march in Russell Square, but the remaining 521 arrests were carried out during the rally in Parliament Square.
There were a further 10 arrests, which included six for assaulting police officers, one for racially aggravated public order, two for breaching a Section 14 Public Order Act condition and one for obstructing a constable in the execution of their duties. The average age of those detained by police was 54, the force said, with the youngest person cuffed by cops being aged just 17.
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