London police arrest 365 pro-Palestinian demonstrators defying new law
Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organisation. That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalised two tanker planes to protest against Britain's support for Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the UK over the past month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression.
More than 500 protesters filled the square outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, many daring police to arrest them by displaying signs reading 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action'. That was enough for police to step in.
But as the demonstration began to wind down, police and protest organisers sparred over the number of arrests as the organisers sought to show that the law was unworkable.
Supporters of Palestine Action attend a mass protest organised by the Defend Our Juries group as part of their campaign to end the proscription of Palestine Action, in Parliament Square, London, Britain, on Saturday. Photo: EPA
'The police have only been able to arrest a fraction of those supposedly committing 'terrorism' offences, and most of those have been given street bail and allowed to go home,' Defend Our Juries, which organised the protest, said in a statement.
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