Irish novelist Sally Rooney risks being ‘arrested' in UK over support for Palestine Action
In an Irish Times op-ed over the weekend, Rooney vowed to give royalties generated by two BBC adaptations of her books, Normal People and Conversations with Friends, to the UK-based direct-action network. Founded in 2020, Palestine Action takes part in 'nonviolent but disruptive' protests. Last month, the group was proscribed a terrorist organisation and banned in the UK under its 2000 Terrorism Act.
A government spokesperson warned anyone flouting the law risked prosecution – a fact Rooney acknowledged in her Times piece, writing that she had chosen the Dublin-based newspaper to publicise her intention rather than a UK one as doing so 'would now be illegal'.
'My books, at least for now, are still published in Britain, and are widely available in bookshops and even supermarkets,' the novelist wrote.
'The UK's state broadcaster (the BBC) has also televised two fine adaptations of my novels, and therefore regularly pays me residual fees.
'I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can.'
More than 700 people have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, since the group was outlawed.
'I feel obliged to state once more that like the hundreds of protesters arrested last weekend, I too support Palestine Action,' Rooney continued.
'If this makes me a 'supporter of terror' under UK law, so be it.'
Lawyer and writer Sadakat Kadri told The Guardian that 'receiving money with the intention of using it to support terrorism is an offence under section 15 of the 2000 act'.
'That means Rooney could be arrested without a warrant as a 'terrorist',' he said.
UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to designate Palestine Action a terrorist organisation, Mr Kadri explained, meant the BBC could also be criminally liable if it continued to pay Rooney royalties in light of her stated intentions.
Asked if the author could face legal repercussions if she were to speak at a literary festival in the UK, Mr Kadri said that if she used such an opportunity to express 'her views in terms of condemning the war crimes being committed in Gaza, an arguable case for prosecution could be made out'.
Head of the public inquiry team at the legal firm Hodge Jones & Allen, Mike Schwarz, said 'anyone providing money which might, in the state's eyes fund 'terrorism' and, separately, anyone supporting an organisation proscribed under terrorism legislation runs a very real risk of serious police interest and prosecution for grave offences in the UK'.
According to the Press Association, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not address Rooney's pledge directly, but said that there was 'a difference between showing support for a proscribed organisation, which is an offence under the Terrorism Act, and legitimate protest in support of a cause'.
Asked what message No 10 would give to people considering giving money to the group, the spokesperson said: 'Support for a proscribed organisation is an offence under the Terrorism Act and obviously the police will, as they have set out, they will obviously implement the law within the law as you'd expect.'
The decision regarding Palestine Action was 'based on security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, following an assessment made by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre', they said.
The ban came into force on July 5, days after the organisation took responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England that caused an estimated £7 million ($14.5m) of damage to two aircraft.
Palestine Action said its activists were responding to Britain's indirect military support for Israel during its war in Gaza.
Being a member of Palestine Action or supporting the group is now a criminal offence in Britain, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, the ambassador of the state of Palestine in Ireland, praised Rooney for 'using her voice to call out international law and human rights violations in Palestine'.
'I hope these calls result in practical actions that will stop the horrors we're witnessing carried out by Israel in Palestine; to stop the genocide and forced displacement and end the Israeli occupation,' she said.
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