UK government must suspend Palestine Action prosecutions until ban review: Rights groups
Organizations including Greenpeace and Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Lord Hermer, the attorney general for England and Wales, urging the delay in prosecutions, The Guardian reported on Friday.
More than 500 people, half of whom are aged 60 or older, were arrested at a London demonstration last weekend under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, which prohibits public displays of support for proscribed groups.
Proceeding with prosecutions amid a judicial review into the ban on Palestine Action would raise significant legal and moral questions, said the letter, which was also signed by Friends of the Earth, Global Witness and the Quakers. The review is expected to be heard in November.
Lord Hermer must act 'in the public interest' and take decisive action over the question of prosecution, the letter said.
Rather than the Crown Prosecution Service having decision-making powers over the prosecutions, the attorney general can decide the appropriate course of action on cases falling under the Terrorism Act, it added.
Most of those arrested at the London rally were bailed, but at least 10 protesters have been charged.
In their letter, the rights group said no one else should be charged, and those who have should not be prosecuted before the findings of the judicial reviews, which could overturn the ban on Palestine Action.
Co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, Areeba Hamid, said: 'Hundreds of people are facing potential prison sentences for sitting quietly holding placards. It isn't difficult to see why this could be a disproportionate restriction on people's freedom of expression, and why so many legal experts have expressed their concern at the government's decision to extend their definition of terrorism in this way.
'We urge the attorney general to approach the matter with care and some caution, and not prejudge the outcome of a judicial review which could fundamentally change the legal position of these protesters.'
The British judge who granted permission for the judicial review feared that those charged with criminal offenses under the Terrorism Act might individually challenge the Palestine Action ban's legality when tried.
This could lead to a variation in findings and inconsistencies among different criminal courts, creating 'a recipe for chaos,' the judge said.
The letter to Lord Hermer added: 'Prosecuting individuals for offences connected to that proscription before the court has determined its legality raises significant legal and moral questions.
'In particular, one of the grounds which the judge held had merit was that the proscription of Palestine Action was a disproportionate interference with human rights.
'We therefore respectfully request that you exercise your constitutional role in the public interest by delaying any decisions to prosecute individuals arrested under terrorism legislation in connection with Palestine Action until the conclusion of the judicial review process.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
As security tightens, migrants take more risks to reach EU
LONDON: The number of people arriving illegally in Europe has fallen in 2025, but experts warn that irregular migration will persist as conflict and economic hardship intensify and migrants forge new pathways to avoid tougher security measures. Arrivals fell by 20 percent in the first six months of the year, continuing 2024's downward trend, according to the EU's border agency Frontex, which credited the drop to increased cooperation with transit countries. Since 1 million people entered Europe irregularly during the so-called migrant crisis in 2015, the EU has taken an increasingly tough stance on illicit arrivals. However, experts say migrants are adapting to stricter EU measures at borders and becoming more reliant on smugglers and newer, often more dangerous routes. While overall numbers are down, arrivals have not decreased across every route to Europe, and new corridors have emerged as migrants and smugglers adapt. 'As one route declines, others usually surge or re-emerge,' said Jennifer Vallentine, an expert at the Mixed Migration Center, a research organization. Irregular crossings dropped to 240,000 in 2024 after surpassing 300,000 in 2022 and 2023 for the first time since 2016. Amid the downward trend, a new Mediterranean Sea corridor between Libya and Greece has emerged, with more than 7,000 people arriving in Crete this year. The Greek government has proposed a new law to criminalize illegal entry and impose a temporary ban on asylum applications. 'Harsh restrictions won't stop the need and desire to migrate, and with irregular migration the only option for some, smuggler services will stay in demand,' said Vallentine. The main irregular entry points across the Mediterranean and over the Greek-Turkish land border have remained consistent over the last decade. But activity on specific routes has fluctuated as people try to avoid increasing surveillance and border controls, according to experts. The EU has sought to shutter access at key entry points, said Helena Hahn, an expert at the European Policy Center think tank. The bloc has struck deals with Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, key departure points for crossing the Mediterranean, bolstering the countries' border forces with speed boats and surveillance and offering cash in exchange for preventing illegal migration. 'Cooperation with North African countries has certainly played a role in reducing arrivals,' said Hahn. Arrivals across the Central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy and Malta decreased by 58 percent from 2023 to 2024, which the International Organization for Migration attributed to more boats being stopped at sea and migrants returned to Libya and Algeria. But the organization also said the EU-North Africa partnerships contribute to increased activity on the Atlantic Ocean route from West Africa to the Canary Islands. The Central Mediterranean route emerged as the sea's busiest after the EU struck a deal with Turkiye in 2016, paying Ankara €6 billion ($6.95 billion) to care for Syrians who had fled their country's civil war. Turkiye also agreed to 'take any necessary measures' to block new illegal routes into the EU. Over the last decade, Europe has spent billions on surveillance systems and detection equipment and has posted Frontex staff at its external and internal borders. The Western Balkan Route that connects arrivals in Greece with Western Europe via an arduous journey through the Balkan states has been a target of these efforts and last year, Frontex reported detections of irregular crossings on the route had dropped by 78 percent from 2023. But the IRC only recorded a 16 percent drop over the same time period, which the organization said suggests people are traveling more covertly to avoid detection. 'There's a lot of deterrence, but it just makes people take more dangerous routes,' said Martha Roussou, a senior advocacy adviser at the International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian charity. Migrants are paying smugglers higher fees and traveling more quickly by night, stopping less often to seek help, according to the IRC. The EU is set to triple its spending on borders in the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework to €81 billion. '(Europe's) reactive approach fails to acknowledge migration as both inevitable and beneficial,' said Vallentine. 'Until regular and accessible pathways are established, we will continue to see irregular migration — and smuggling networks will continue to adapt to facilitate it.'
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
UK to prosecute 60 people for supporting banned pro-Palestine group
LONDON: At least 60 people will be prosecuted for 'showing support' for the recently proscribed Palestine Action group, in addition to three already charged, London's Metropolitan Police said. 'We have put arrangements in place that will enable us to investigate and prosecute significant numbers each week if necessary,' the Met said in a statement. More than 700 people have been arrested since it was banned as a terrorist group in early July, including 522 people arrested at a protest last weekend for displaying placards backing the group — thought to be the highest ever recorded number of detentions at a single protest in the UK capital. 'The decisions that we have announced today are the first significant numbers to come out of the recent protests, and many more can be expected in the next few weeks,' said Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson. 'People should be clear about the real-life consequences for anyone choosing to support Palestine Action,' said Parkinson. The first three people were charged earlier this month with offenses under the Terrorism Act for backing Palestine Action, after they were arrested at a July demonstration. According to police, those charged for such offenses could face up to six months imprisonment, as well as other consequences. 'I am proud of how our police and CPS (prosecution) teams have worked so speedily together to overcome misguided attempts to overwhelm the justice system,' Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said. In a statement following the latest mass arrests, Interior Minister Yvette Cooper defended the Labour government's decision, insisting: 'UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority.' 'The assessments are very clear — this is not a nonviolent organization,' she added. The government outlawed Palestine Action on July 7, days after it took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated £7.0 million ($9.3 million) of damage to two aircraft. The group said its activists were responding to Britain's indirect military support for Israel amid the war in Gaza. Britain's Interior Ministry has insisted that Palestine Action was also suspected of other 'serious attacks' that involved 'violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.' Critics, including the UN, Amnesty International, and Greenpeace, have criticized the proscription as an overreach of the law and warned that the ensuing arrests threaten free speech. The UK's Liberal Democrat party said that it was 'deeply concerned about the use of terrorism powers against peaceful protesters.'
Arab News
9 hours ago
- Arab News
Jordan, UK discuss strengthening transport cooperation
AMMAN: Jordanian Minister of Transport Nidal Qatamin met on Saturday with British Charge d'Affaires Hazel Mowbray to discuss expanding cooperation between Jordan and the UK in the transport sector, the Jordan News Agency reported. Qatamin highlighted the importance of UK support in advancing public transport and logistics, which he described as vital to the kingdom's economic development. Mowbray pledged British backing through the International Growth Centre (IGC), an economic research center based at the London School of Economics, in coordination with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, to support priority projects in the sector. Both sides agreed to continue technical and institutional cooperation to achieve Jordan's transport development goals and further strengthen the bilateral partnership.
