Egypt reclaims 13 artifacts from UK and Germany
The ministries of foreign affairs and tourism, in coordination with British and German authorities, recovered the artifacts that date back to different eras of ancient Egyptian civilization.
The 10 pieces that arrived in the UK include a limestone funeral plaque, a small amulet, a bronze crown fragment, a beaded funeral mask, and several black stone funeral amulets.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the London Metropolitan Police had confiscated the artifacts after verifying their illegal exit from Egypt via an international network specialized in smuggling antiquities.
German authorities in the city of Hamburg informed the ministry of their intention to return several artifacts preserved in the city museum after confirming that these items left Egypt illegally. The three pieces include a skull and a hand from a mummy, as well as an amulet that symbolized life in ancient Egyptian civilization.
Egyptian authorities continue to recover smuggled artifacts from various countries and combat the trafficking of such items. Last week, they thwarted an attempt to smuggle a shipment containing 2,189 ancient pieces at Nuweiba Port in South Sinai.
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Arab News
4 hours ago
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UK PM under pressure after more than 500 arrests at Palestine Action protests in London
LONDON: British prime minister Keir Starmer faces mounting criticism after hundreds of people were detained during a demonstration in Parliament Square in London at the weekend against the government's decision to ban Palestine Action. The Metropolitan Police said officers arrested 532 people on Saturday, 522 of them for displaying items in support of the proscribed group. A breakdown of the arrest figures released on Sunday revealed that 348 of those apprehended were age 50 or over, The Independent newspaper reported. The protest, organized by Defend Our Juries, an organization that 'supports collective action to expose this corruption of democracy and the rule of law,' took place after ministers warned they would take action against anyone who showed public support for Palestine Action, which was designated a terrorist organization last month. Victims minister Alex Davies-Jones defended the crackdown, saying: 'The right to peacefully protest in this country is a cornerstone of our democracy, and of course we respect that. But with regards to Palestine Action, they are a proscribed terrorist organization and their actions have not been peaceful. 'They have violently carried out criminal damage to RAF aircraft. We have credible reports of them targeting Jewish-owned businesses here in the United Kingdom, and there are other reasons which we can't disclose because of national security. 'But they are a proscribed terrorist organization and anyone showing support for that terrorist organization will feel the full force of the law.' The prime minister's office also defended the proscription, saying it followed 'strong security advice' and citing attacks said to be linked to the group involving violence, injury and criminal damage. Officials said the UK's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre had linked the group to three separate acts of terrorism. However, the move drew sharp criticism from across the political spectrum. Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, a member of Starmer's ruling Labour Party and of the House of Lords, warned that the ban risked deepening social divisions. 'The proscription of Palestine Action is in danger of becoming a mistake of poll tax proportions,' she told The Independent, referring to a highly unpopular taxation policy of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher's government that led to violent protests in the early 1990s across the UK. 'The courts have already found an arguable case that it breaches fundamental rights and more, not less, people are coming out to protest against both atrocities in Gaza and inappropriate use of terror laws at home. 'The notable presence of so many older people highlights the strength of genuine feeling. Criminal damage at air force bases can be prosecuted, but sweeping guilt by association only exacerbates community tensions and creates a bigger headache for the police.' Former Labour cabinet minister Peter Hain described the arrests as 'madness,' and said Palestine Action was 'not equivalent' to terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda or Daesh, adding that this was why he had voted against its ban. Independent MP Diane Abbott said: 'The government is in danger of making itself look both draconian and foolish.' Left-wing Labour MP Nadia Whittome, who also opposed the ban, accused ministers of 'conflating protest with terrorism.' In a message posted on social media platform X, she said: 'Last month, I warned that proscribing Palestine Action would result in the mass criminalization of people who are not even members of the group. Now, more than 500 people have been arrested. I voted against the proscription; we shouldn't be conflating protest with terrorism.' Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal warned that the mass arrests would clog the justice system: 'These would probably be jury trials as each of them would be advised to plead not guilty and expect a trial in 2027 at the earliest. I also suspect that no jury would convict anyhow.' Amnesty International described the level of policing as 'disproportionate to the point of absurdity.' Its chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said: 'Peaceful protest is a fundamental right. People are understandably outraged by the ongoing genocide being committed in Gaza and are entitled under international human rights law to express their horror. 'The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate, to the point of absurdity, to be treating them as terrorists. We have long criticized UK terrorism law for being excessively broad and vaguely worded, and a threat to freedom of expression. These arrests demonstrate that our concerns were justified.' 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Arab News
11 hours ago
- Arab News
Half of Palestine Action supporters arrested in London older than 60: Police data
LONDON: Half of the protesters arrested in London on Saturday in relation to the banned group Palestine Action are older than 60, police data shows. Officers arrested 532 people at the mass demonstration against the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization last month, The Guardian reported. All except 10 were arrested under Section 13 of the UK's Terrorism Act for displaying placards or signs in support of a banned group. London's Metropolitan Police on Sunday released an age breakdown of the people arrested at the demonstration. Almost 100 were in their 70s and 15 were aged 80 or older. The event was organized in Parliament Square by Defend Our Juries, which requested that protesters hold signs saying: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' Police arrested high-profile former government and military figures. Jonathon Porritt, 75, a former adviser to the government of Tony Blair, said he is deeply concerned by the erosion of civil liberties in Britain under successive governments. Police arrested him under Section 13 and he was bailed until Oct. 23. He described the ban on Palestine Action as 'a measure of the government's desperation' that is 'entirely inappropriate.' Porritt said: 'I thought this was overreach by the home secretary, trying to eliminate the voices of those who are deeply concerned about what is happening in Gaza. 'This was an absolutely clear case of a government using its powers to crush dissenting voices when it is the government itself that is most reprehensible for what continues to be an absolute horror story in the world. 'What we are seeing now in Gaza has just utterly shocked people and it's completely abhorrent that we are living through a genocide on our TV screens.' Some people who attended the protest complained that police detained older demonstrators for hours in the hot summer weather and denied them access to water. Defend Our Juries on Sunday said everyone arrested had been released from police custody and no charges had been issued. The Met Police said: 'There was water available at the prisoner processing points and access to toilets. We had police medics on hand as part of the policing operation and we processed people as quickly as possible to ensure nobody was waiting an unreasonably long time. 'Notwithstanding that, a degree of personal responsibility is required on the part of those who chose to come and break the law. 'They knew they were very likely to be arrested which is a decision that will inevitably have consequences.' Chris Romberg, a 75-year-old former British Army officer colonel and a military attache at the British embassies in Jordan and Egypt, was also arrested under Section 13 and bailed. 'This is a serious assault on our freedoms,' Romberg, the son of a Holocaust survivor told, The Guardian. 'When I protested against the US war in Vietnam, we were able to chant 'victory to the NLF' without being criminalized. 'Now a statement of support for a nonviolent direct-action group is prosecuted under anti-terrorism legislation.' Award-winning poet Alice Oswald, 58, told officers who had detained her to write to the home secretary about the position they were forced into as a result of the Palestine Action ban. She said: 'Clearly there were some police officers who were really struggling with what they had to do. You could see the slightly shifty look in their faces, too. 'When I was speaking to them in the police van I did say: 'Write to Yvette Cooper and tell her that this is making your life impossible'.' She told The Guardian that she was partly motivated to attend the demonstration after delivering online poetry classes to young people in Gaza. Since the proscription of Palestine Action in July, 10 people have been charged for suspected offenses under the Terrorism Act.
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Egypt reclaims 13 artifacts from UK and Germany
LONDON: Egypt announced on Sunday the reclamation of 13 artifacts that ended up in the UK and Germany as part of Cairo's efforts to protect Egyptian heritage and combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property. The ministries of foreign affairs and tourism, in coordination with British and German authorities, recovered the artifacts that date back to different eras of ancient Egyptian civilization. The 10 pieces that arrived in the UK include a limestone funeral plaque, a small amulet, a bronze crown fragment, a beaded funeral mask, and several black stone funeral amulets. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the London Metropolitan Police had confiscated the artifacts after verifying their illegal exit from Egypt via an international network specialized in smuggling antiquities. German authorities in the city of Hamburg informed the ministry of their intention to return several artifacts preserved in the city museum after confirming that these items left Egypt illegally. The three pieces include a skull and a hand from a mummy, as well as an amulet that symbolized life in ancient Egyptian civilization. Egyptian authorities continue to recover smuggled artifacts from various countries and combat the trafficking of such items. Last week, they thwarted an attempt to smuggle a shipment containing 2,189 ancient pieces at Nuweiba Port in South Sinai.
