UK police arrest scores of Palestine Action supporters
LONDON: UK police arrested over 100 people in London and other cities for supporting Palestine Action in a third consecutive weekend of protests over the government's decision to ban the activist group using anti-terror laws. Some 55 people were held at a demonstration in London's Parliament Square under the Terrorism Act 2000 for displaying signs supporting Palestine Action, the Metropolitan Police said. The protesters held up placards reading: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.'
Another nine were detained at a separate London march, and a further eight were held in Truro in Cornwall. Other protests were held in northwestern Manchester where 16 people were detained, in western Bristol where another 17 were arrested, and in the Scottish capital Edinburgh, police said.
The rallies were organized by campaign group Defend Our Juries, which had said they were intended to 'defy' the ban. Since the Palestine Action ban kicked in on July 5, police have warned that expressing support for the group was now a crime, after a last-ditch High Court challenge failed to stop its proscription becoming law. The government announced plans for the ban under the 2000 Terrorism Act days after activists from the group claimed to be behind a break-in at an air force base in southern England. Two aircraft there were sprayed with red paint, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.55 million) in damage. Four people charged in relation to the incident remain in custody. Palestine Action has condemned its outlawing—which makes it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison—as an attack on free speech.—AFP
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