.jpeg%3Ftrim%3D0%2C0%2C0%2C0%26width%3D1200%26height%3D800%26crop%3D1200%3A800&w=3840&q=100)
Palestine Action demonstrators should not be prosecuted for placards
The Terrorism Act 2000 defines terrorism as including action involving ' serious damage to property ' in support of a political objective. This definition is in line with international norms and seems entirely appropriate. By that test, Palestine Action is a terrorist organisation.
It is dedicated to committing criminal damage against public and private property in protest against Israel's actions in Gaza and Britain's alleged involvement in it. It had vandalised property over on a number of occasions even before the breaking at RAF Brize Norton. Criminal damage is not a legitimate form of protest.
Supporting the Palestinian cause and supporting Palestine Action are two quite separate things. Supporting the Palestinian cause is a natural reaction to the appalling scenes of destruction, deliberate starvation and indiscriminate killing by the Israeli army in Gaza. Demonstrating against that is a legitimate form of protest.
Support for Palestine Action is something different. It means not just supporting the Palestinian cause but supporting a method of protest which is violent and criminal. One can express one's disgust at Israel's conduct in Gaza without adopting Palestine Action's methods.
The Terrorism Act creates an offence of supporting a proscribed organization. It precisely defines what acts amount to support. One of them is wearing, carrying or displaying an article giving rise to a reasonable suspicion that the person supports the proscribed organisation. This is far too wide.
Merely indicating your support for a terrorist organisation without doing anything to assist or further its acts should not be a criminal offence and is not consistent with basic rights to free speech. It looks as if Palestine Action has deliberately courted trouble by encouraging people to carry placards with messages specially designed to commit the offence. Martyrdom sometimes has a political value.
It was necessary for the home secretary to proscribe Palestine Action if she wished to disrupt its funding and discourage people from actively assisting its programme of violence. That is a reasonable political objective. Unfortunately, the home secretary cannot proscribe an organisation without also making it a criminal offence to carry placards supporting it.
For the demonstrators the solution is simple enough. Oppose Israeli violence but do not support Palestine Action's violence. For the prosecuting authorities, there is also a simple solution. The director of prosecution's consent is required for any prosecution of those who have been arrested. Where a demonstrator acted peacefully, he would be wise not to authorise a prosecution. People courting martyrdom should not be indulged.
In the longer term, the right course would be to amend the Terrorism Act so as to redefine in a more sensible way the offence of supporting a proscribed organisation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Fresh blow to Starmer as Labour's approval rating slumps to its lowest EVER level - with just 13 per cent happy with government's record
Keir Starmer was dealt a fresh blow last night as his Government's popularity sunk to its lowest level to date. The Government's approval rating slipped to minus 55, according to pollsters YouGov. Just 13 per cent of the public included in the survey said they approved of the Government's record since returning to power under Sir Keir last summer - the same percentage as the previous week. But those who disapproved slipped by another percentage point, down to 68 per cent. It meant the net approval rating lurched to a record low for this administration. The weekly poll makes grim reading for Labour HQ, and follows a series of blows to Sir Keir's authority, including fresh accusations he has failed to get a hold of the small boats crisis, and claims he has presided over a 'two-tier' justice system. He also had to deal with the resignation of his homelessness minister over a rental home row. The YouGov data came after it was officially confirmed more than 50,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel since Labour won the 2024 general election. Analysis claimed the milestone was reached in 401 days of the Starmer government, compared with 603 days for Rishi Sunak's administration, and more than 1,000 days under Boris Johnson's. Liz Truss did not last long enough to reach the landmark, although a total of 10,532 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel during the 49 days of her premiership. Figures this week showed Labour freed more than 26,000 criminals as part of its early release scheme. This included hundreds of serious offenders who were handed sentences of more than a decade behind bars. The figures suggested 45,000 criminals could have their sentences cut in the programme's first year, which was designed to ease pressure on Britain's overcrowded prisons. There have also been claims police under Labour have been treating certain right-wing protesters more severely than minority groups - a theory pushed by former Donald Trump ally Elon Musk. And beleaguered shopkeepers have been told not to publicise the identities of suspected shoplifters, despite concerns over-stretched police are effectively powerless to clamp down on thieves. Last week, homelessness minister Rushanara Ali became the fourth Labour minister under Sir Keir to have left their role over a personal matter. She was accused of 'staggering hypocrisy' amid claims she ejected tenants from one of her properties, before putting it back on the market for an extra £700 a month in rent. And the economy remains dire, amid claims Chancellor Rachel Reeves will have to increase taxes substantially this autumn to fill a £50 billion black hole. YouGov polling has always shown Labour to have a negative approval rating since returning to power for the first time since Gordon Brown was Prime Minister. But the country was largely split down the middle in the early days of Sir Keir's premiership, with just a couple of percentage points between those who thought the Government was doing a good job, and those who disagreed. And it has steadily gotten worse, with brief increases in approval followed by extended periods where public satisfaction diminishes.
Reuters
25 minutes ago
- Reuters
Mothers of Gaza hostages fear Israeli offensive will endanger their sons
GENEVA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Mothers of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, including one who appeared emaciated in a recent Hamas video, voiced fears on Tuesday that a planned Israeli offensive could further endanger their sons' lives due to the risk of reprisals. Israel plans a much-criticised new Gaza offensive to take control of Gaza City in the almost two-year-old war against Palestinian militant group Hamas. Bombardment of the city is underway but the timing of the full offensive is uncertain and efforts to salvage a ceasefire continue. "When I heard that our government intends to extend the war in Gaza, I as a mother am afraid, because we know that Hamas gives kill the hostages whenever (our military) is getting close to them," said Viki Cohen, the mother of Nimrod Cohen, an Israeli soldier who was captured by Hamas during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attacks. Cohen, who is in Geneva alongside other hostages' mothers to appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross to help them, called instead for a deal for their release. "We must do everything to take them out from there," she said, holding up a photo of her now 21-year-old son, with his two previous ages since his captivity crossed out. Galia David, the mother of Evyatar David who appeared skeleton-like in a Hamas video this month where he was seen digging what he described as his own grave, said she was "really afraid" ahead of the offensive. "We know from hostages who were released that there are hard stories, that they are even more evil with them when there is fighting," she told reporters. She said she also worries that her son could die of starvation within days - a fear shared by Cohen's mother. Malnutrition rates and hunger-related deaths are rising in Gaza, humanitarian groups say, amid Israeli restrictions on aid. Israel denies responsibility for spreading hunger in Gaza, accusing Hamas of stealing aid, which Hamas denies. Of the original 251 hostages captured by Hamas, around 50 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom about 20 are thought to still be alive. Hamas has repeatedly denied abuse of the hostages and said Israel is starving the whole population in Gaza, including the hostages and their captors.
The National
40 minutes ago
- The National
Questions on UK spy plane 'over Gaza as Israel killed journalists'
On Sunday, August 10, the Israeli military killed prominent Al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, as well as four of his colleagues and a freelancer, in a deliberate strike in Gaza City. Israel later claimed that al-Sharif had been a leading member of Hamas – but the allegation was widely contested, with Al Jazeera calling it a 'desperate attempt to silence the voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza'. READ MORE: Labour label Palestine Action terrorists – but ignore Nazi salutes from the far-right The Guardian reported that the strike which killed al-Sharif and his colleagues happened at 11.22pm, quoting Palestinian reporter Wadi Abu al-Saud. Flight radar data showed that a spy plane registered under the code N6147U was active at the RAF Akrotiri base, in Cyprus, two hours earlier. There is no flight path available, suggesting the plane's transponder was then turned off. This has been standard practice during spy missions over Palestine. Aid drops have been allowed into Gaza since Israel loosened its blockade of the regionLast week, the Daily Mail reported that plane N6147U belonged to an American private contractor, and had been hired to 'spy on Gaza due to shortage of RAF aircraft'. The UK Government had until then been sending its own aircraft to spy over Gaza since the October 7 attacks on Israel. In April, The Times reported that the UK Government had admitted to holding information gathered from a spy plane over Gaza on the day that an Israeli air strike killed British aid workers. However, the Ministry of Defence refused to release it. After the killing of al-Sharif, the UK's National Union of Journalists asked the Labour Government to back an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into Israel's targeting of media workers. In light of the above information, the UK Government was asked: Does the UK Government possess any information gathered by a spy plane over Gaza on August 10/11? Will it release the information publicly? Will it release the information to any investigation (by the ICC or otherwise) into the killing of journalists? SNP MSP Bill Kidd said: 'The SNP is clear that the killing of journalists in Gaza by Israel is indefensible and that Israel should be held to account. 'The UK Government must be fully transparent in answering these questions." A spokesperson for Scotland for Palestine campaign group said: 'Conducting spy flights over Gaza for Israel as it stands accused by the world's highest court of a plausible genocide is already grave. "If further evidence shows that the UK Government was involved in tracking down the last few remaining Palestinian journalists in a targeted assassination by Israel – a crime under international law – then this would be yet another serious mark against the UK Government. 'Similar to past atrocities, anyone who has helped Israel to commit crimes against humanity will one day face the consequences of their actions. READ MORE: Killing of Al Jazeera staff in Gaza 'silencing journalistic voices' 'We thank The National for following up on this and for holding the UK Government to account. 'The UK Government must now comply and release the information that has been requested on its spy flights over Gaza.' The Ministry of Defence declined to comment. Previously, the UK Government has said that its unarmed surveillance flights are conducted for the sole purpose of locating Israeli hostages held in Gaza. It has declined to release any information gathered, citing operational security.
