Latest news with #DefendOurJuries
Sky News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
More than 500 people arrested after Palestine Action protest - with almost half aged 60 and above
The number of people arrested after a protest in London on Saturday supporting banned group Palestine Action has risen to 532, police have said. Around half of them (259) were aged 60 and above - including almost 100 people who were in their 70s. Some 522 arrests were for displaying a placard in support of a proscribed organisation contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, according to the Metropolitan Police. War in Gaza latest As of 9pm on Saturday, the number was put at 466. Hundreds of people attended the demonstration in Parliament Square, organised by Defend Our Juries, with the Metropolitan Police warning it would arrest anyone expressing backing for Palestine Action. Membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act. In a post on X shortly after 6.45pm on Sunday, Defend Our Juries said every person arrested in the square had been released from police custody, and that none had been charged. One of the arrests took place as the Palestine Coalition march formed in Russell Square, while 521 were at the protest. Of those arrested, the biggest number (147) was in the 60-69 age group, while 97 people were aged between 70 and 79, and 15 others were between 80-89. Six were aged 17-19, sixty-five were in the 20-29 age group, 55 were aged 30-39, 45 were aged 40-49 and 89 were in the 50-59 age group. The average age of those arrested was 54, while some 263 of those arrested were male, 261 were female and eight either defined themselves as non-binary or did not disclose their gender. Among the arrests, six were for assaults on officers (none were seriously injured), one was for "obstructing a constable in the execution of his/her duty", two were for breaching Section 14 Public Order Act conditions, and one was for a racially aggravated public order offence. Anyone who was arrested as part of the operation was taken to one of two prisoner processing points in the Westminster area. Those whose details could be confirmed were released on bail to appear at a police station at a future date. They were given conditions not to attend future demonstrations related to Palestine Action. Those who refused to provide their details at the prisoner processing points and those who were found to have been arrested while already on bail, were taken to one of a number of Met Police custody suites. Charity Amnesty International described the mass arrests under UK terrorism law as "deeply concerning". The crowd, sat on the grass inside Parliament Square, could be seen writing "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action" on white placards at 1pm, with the vast majority remaining silent. Meanwhile on Sunday, hundreds of people joined a march on Downing Street to urge the release of those being held in Gaza by Palestinian militant group Hamas. A scuffle broke out after at least two men shouted "Free Palestine" in front of the march. One man was seen being bundled to the ground close to Trafalgar Square after being surrounded by around a dozen people.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘I'm proud to have made this stand': over-60s arrested at Palestine Action ban protest explain their decision
In recent weeks, hundreds of people have been arrested for taking part in demonstrations organised by the campaign group Defend Our Juries. Their alleged crime is calling for an end to the ban against Palestine Action, which has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Yvette Cooper, the home secretary. One striking detail among those detained is their age. Half of those arrested at the largest protest yet, in Parliament Square in London on Saturday, were 60 or older. Some said they had taken part to give a voice to younger people who have more to lose by breaking the law, some simply felt they must challenge the government's stance. The Guardian has spoken to some of these protesters. 'The government is looking [like] such idiots,' said Deborah Hinton, a former magistrate. 'I mean when people say, 'What's your status?', and then I say, 'Well, I'm on bail for terrorism', they look at me as if the situation is farcical. I think they [ministers] are making themselves look an absolute joke.' Hinton was arrested at a 19 July demonstration in Cornwall arranged by Defend Our Juries (DOJ). A former member of the Parole Board, she was awarded an OBE in 1994 for services to the community. She said she was already involved with DOJ because she was worried about the erosion of free speech and the right to protest, but the banning of Palestine Action was a 'red line'. She said: 'In my view, Palestine Action is not a terrorist organisation. I lived through the IRA and the bombing in London when you had to leave shops and leave museums because bombs might go off any minute. Frankly, that is what a terrorist organisation is. This is not a terrorist organisation, it's a direct action organisation, like the suffragists, like the Greenham Common women, like many other organisations. 'If people do direct action and they cause criminal damage, then you arrest the people, you charge them [under existing laws], and that's that.' As well as free speech concerns, her longstanding support for the Palestinian cause led her to risk arrest. 'What's going on in Gaza has gone beyond anything that one could possibly have imagined,' said Hinton. 'I can't even think about it, it's too awful.' Hinton said she was shaking as the officers moved down the line of placard holders arresting each person as they went. An officer then told her that if she put down her placard she could leave without further action. 'I knew I couldn't do that, but it was such a temptation because it was so terrifying,' said Hinton. 'I've been a very law-abiding citizen and very respectful of authority all my life but I knew I had to do this and it was my duty to do this.' Hinton said it was right that her generation were putting themselves on the frontline. 'Young people are going to jeopardise their careers,' she said. 'They won't get a visa to go to the [United] States. They won't get a visa to go to most other countries because they'll have terrorism on their record. 'People like me, who are elderly, we can afford it. I'm very sorry not to go and be able to visit my niece in America but it's not the end of the world. Young people shouldn't be doing this, we should be doing this. We should be taking the responsibility.' John McGowan, a Catholic priest, said that when Yvette Cooper was in opposition he felt she 'spoke for me'. But asked what he would say to the home secretary now, he replied: 'For goodness sake, don't call these people terrorists because they're not terrorists. 'The focus shouldn't be on Palestine Action. The focus should be on what the government isn't doing for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.' McGowan, a Carmelite and parish priest of St Joseph's in Chalfont St Peter, was one of 532 people arrested at the demonstration in Parliament Square on 9 August, the largest against the proscription of the organisation to date. He said he had written in his diary a week or two before the protest that he would like to be arrested in support of the cause, so when the demonstration was announced it was the opportunity he was looking for. He attended wearing his Roman collar, identifying himself as a priest, and met a Baptist minister there who was also arrested. After being detained, McGowan was placed in a police van where there were two female officers that he said were 'polite, and almost apologetic. I sat down, and I felt very calm and almost serene.' When the van drove away, he said people cheered in support of him and the two other protesters in the vehicle, banging on the van and making the heart sign to them. 'It was a strain, but exhilarating as well. It was an extraordinary day, I've never had a day like it in my life but I'm glad I did it. In my conscience, I was clear it was the right thing to do so I take that as my guiding light. If I get a criminal record, I don't care.' He said he was not expecting any recriminations from the Catholic church and had experienced a moving response from his congregation. 'I was in two minds whether to tell the people in my church what I'd done but I'm the kind of person that likes to share these things and so I did,' he said. 'I was really nervous but at the end of mass I said: 'Look, I went to the demonstration, I got arrested' and they applauded me. I was almost in tears.' A former British army colonel and ex-military attache, Chris Romberg cut an unlikely terrorism suspect even among hundreds of other retirees arrested in Parliament Square in relation to Palestine Action. Yet it is this background – along with the fact that his father and grandparents fled Nazi Germany in 1938 – that motivated him to join the protest, leading to his arrest under the Terrorism Act. 'This year saw the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by British forces. What they found shocked the British people,' said Romberg, who himself saw action in the Falklands war with the commando regiment and was mentioned in dispatches. 'What we are seeing now in Gaza, 80 years on, is equally shocking. As a former officer in the British army, I am horrified that the government is misusing our armed forces to be complicit in the genocide rather than to end it.' Claims by Cooper that those protesting 'don't know the full nature' of Palestine Action have also struck a nerve. 'The impression I get is that people are now extremely distrustful of the government,' said Romberg, who left the army in 2007. 'That the home secretary should speak like that and say that she has information but can't tell us what it is reminds me of the Monty Python sketch about the Piranha brothers, where there is a man who had his head nailed to a coffee table because he had broken an unwritten law but they wouldn't tell him what it was.' The former diplomat's last two appointments were as defence attache at the British embassies in Jordan and Egypt, and he speaks knowledgeably about the region. Since leaving the army, he became active in supporting the Palestinian cause. Recently, he joined the group Holocaust Survivors and Descendants against the Gaza Genocide, other members of which stood together under a banner during the protest on Saturday. It was the first time that he has been arrested in his life. Before taking part, he reflected a lot on what he was about to do. 'It wasn't a decision I took lightly and the organisers, Defend Our Juries, made absolutely sure that everybody realised the implications of what they were doing, and yet people felt strongly enough that they were able and were prepared to take that risk.' Richard Whitmore-Jones readily admits he 'doesn't particularly approve' of the methods deployed by Palestine Action, the direct action group proscribed last month. 'I was brought up to respect property,' he said. Yet in his next breath, the retired company director makes an argument few might expect from a former executive at the multinational beverage company Diageo. 'I was certainly in horror of vandalism but I have to admit that people have not been listened to on Gaza. There have been enormous marches in London and they have not been reported accurately or were kept off the front pages. 'Palestine Action's methods sit very uneasily with me. It's difficult to accept that vandalism is the only way to go. However, I feel we have to do something and I support their stand against genocide.' Whitmore-Jones, from East Sussex, was arrested on Saturday having also been previously arrested at another protest organised by Defend Our Juries, returning with the same placard stating: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' He has been bailed to appear at a police station in October. As for the decision to put himself in line for arrest not once but twice, Whitmore-Jones cites being part of a generation whose parents fought fascism in the second world war, which in his own case included an RAF father who became a prisoner of the Japanese. 'I am astonished that we now have a government that has been supporting exactly the sort of actions, in Gaza, which Britain sought to prevent 80 years ago. My father's sacrifice, which he saw as being to prevent other peoples from being invaded and treated badly, appears to be contrary to what our government is doing,' he said. For much of his working life, Whitmore-Jones was with Diageo, rising to become a property manager and office services manager at the company, retiring in 2003 shortly after it was taken over. He 'came late' to activism for Gaza, going on his first ever march when he was 72. 'I felt better for doing something, though I realised I was doing very little really,' he said, before the proscription of Palestine Action changed everything again for him. He shrugs off the suggestion that he was now making a sacrifice by facing a potential terrorism conviction and the life-changing limitations that come with it, insisting: 'Look, I'm 74, I don't have a mortgage to get, I don't have a job. I will be a little bit upset about not being allowed to go to America, but I really will live with that. It's the young people that are brave.' As for his family's views of what he is doing, Whitmore-Jones said: 'It's gone from amusement to absolute firm support and I'm very pleased with the attitude of my children.' Family, in a way, is also at the heart of his motivation for seeking to oppose Israel's actions in Gaza: 'This is about children the age of my grandchildren having their limbs and their lives taken away.' After leading a 'wonderful, full life', the TV screenwriter Trevelyan Evans, who has written for a number of BBC sitcoms, is unafraid of being called a terrorist in the courts. 'I'm very proud to have made this stand, whether I'm convicted or not,' he said. He was among the 532 people, many of them 'old fogies', arrested last Saturday. 'People in my demographic are standing up for those people who can't risk having a conviction on their records for a terrorism offence,' he said. He felt compelled to take part in the protest to stand up for 'the people of Gaza and Palestine who are being massacred' and to oppose the group's proscription, which he called an 'obviously ridiculous judicial overreach on behalf of the government'. 'They just slapped this ban on them in order to suppress opposition,' he added. Before the demonstration began last weekend, he jokingly said he got his 'materials for terrorism' ready on the green in Parliament Square. His tools of choice? A pen and piece of paper. 'I never realised being a terrorist could be so much fun,' he said. 'Being out in the open air and meeting new people in a nice central location … it was a convivial atmosphere.' After the silent portion of the protest ended, Evans said people were 'handing out sandwiches and sun cream' until an officer with 'seven of his friends came round' and told him he was being arrested. They then started to carry him out of the square. 'I hadn't been carried around like that since I was at school,' he said. 'The policeman said: 'You're a bit heavy.' He had to call one of his friends over to help carry me. I thought that was a bit of a liberty.' After this, he was placed in a police van, which he had all to himself. 'I think, on behalf of the Metropolitan police, it was quite generous.' Evans is on bail awaiting charge. He said the government's decision to ban Palestine Action represented a 'kind of creeping authoritarianism [which is] eventually going to hit a wall, because it's inherently contradictory'. 'If you extend draconian laws, eventually you're going to look pretty stupid. I can see that the government laid itself a trap and walked straight into it.'
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Dozens to be prosecuted for supporting terror group Palestine Action after hundreds were arrested in protests
The group was proscribed last month meaning it is a criminal offence to show support TERROR PROSECUTIONS Dozens to be prosecuted for supporting terror group Palestine Action after hundreds were arrested in protests COPS have charged a further 60 people for supporting Palestine Action after more than 700 arrests. The group was proscribed last month after they took credit for vandalising two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton, in an alleged £7million attack. 6 Police detained 522 people who were illegally supporting Palestine Action on Saturday Credit: Getty 6 Dozens could be prosecuted for backing the terror group Credit: Peter Macdiarmid 6 Organisers Defend Our Juries said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Palestine Action have also been linked to claims of serious assault on staff and police officers at a business in South Gloucestershire. Since proscription, it is a criminal offence to show support for the group - carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years. This comes after more than 15,000 people held a peaceful protest in London last weekend to support Palestine, where only one person was arrested. But cops later detained 522 people who were illegally supporting Palestine Action. Five others were arrested for assaulting police officers, two for breaching public order conditions and one for racially aggravated public order. Organisers Defend Our Juries said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square, with police preparing for the "largest mass arrest in their history". It turned out to be an even higher number of arrests made by the Metropolitan Police at a single protest than the poll tax riots of 1990, when 339 people were arrested. Clusters of officers could be seen holding people sat on the edge of the grass and escorting them through crowds to police vans. One man, who appeared to be in his 50s, was arrested after he entered a large group of police holding a homemade sign reading "I support Palestine Action". He was marched away by a group of nine cops. Record number arrested at Palestine Action protest as demonstrators bring chaos to London People waving Palestinian flags and signs reading "stop the genocide" continued to gather in the main square despite the risk of arrest. Another pair of protesters holding handwritten pro-Palestine Action banners sat on the statue of Millicent Garrett Fawcett. They were later arrested and carried away by police officers. As they were carried away the crowd shouted "shame on you". Three retired doctors in scrubs lay and sat holding signs in support of the controversial group - police surrounded them and arrested a woman, carrying her away through the crowd. Another was later carried away, with officers having to fight through an angry crowd. The mass protest came only days after the first three people to be charged with supporting the group were publicly named as Jeremy Shippam, 71, Judit Murray, also 71, and Fiona Maclean, 53. Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: 'The decisions that we have announced today are the first significant numbers to come out of the recent protests, and many more can be expected in the next few weeks. We are ready to make swift decisions in all cases where arrests have been made. 'The public has a democratic right to protest peacefully in this country, and I understand the depth of feeling around the horrific scenes in Gaza. 'However, Palestine Action is now a proscribed terrorist organisation and those who have chosen to break the law will be subject to criminal proceedings under the Terrorism Act. 'When protest conduct crosses the line from lawful activity into criminality, we have a duty to enforce the law. 'People should be clear about the real-life consequences for anyone choosing to support Palestine Action. A terrorism conviction can severely impact your life and career – it can restrict your ability to travel overseas and work in certain professions. 'I urge people to think very carefully about their actions at protests. Anyone who chooses to disobey the law will have to face the consequences.' Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley added: 'I am proud of how our police and CPS teams have worked so speedily together to overcome misguided attempts to overwhelm the justice system. If necessary, we are able to investigate and quickly charge significant numbers of people each week if people want the potentially life-changing consequences of a terrorist conviction. 'At the same time, we will continue to police the numerous protests each week where people express their views in support of Palestine without choosing to break Counter Terrorism Laws by supporting proscribed terror groups. 'To be clear, these arrests and prosecutions do not outlaw people's right to demonstrate in support of Palestine, or any other cause. They are simply the enforcement of a specific provision under the Terrorism Act in relation to a specific proscribed terrorist organisation, Palestine Action. 'Where officers see these offences, we will continue to make arrests and, as shown today, the CPS and police will work to quickly secure charges, at whatever scale is necessary.' A Home Office spokesperson said in a previous statement: "The Home Secretary has been clear that the proscription of Palestine Action is not about Palestine, nor does it affect the freedom to protest on Palestinian rights. "It only applies to the specific and narrow organisation whose activities do not reflect or represent the thousands of people across the country who continue to exercise their fundamental rights to protest on different issues." Consequences of Terrorism Act offences Source; Met Police •A maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment. •The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) will have a record of a person's TACT conviction, and this will be seen by employers who use DBS to carry out checks on staff or new applicants. The existence of a TACT conviction may be seen by employers as grounds for a refusal to employ a person or to dismiss them. •Universities also carry out DBS checks, and may refuse entry to courses to those with terrorism convictions. •Any application to visit another country usually requires a declaration of criminal convictions. A TACT conviction will be a potential bar to entry to countries including the US, Australia, Japan, and from 2026 when the ETIAS system is introduced, countries of the European Union. •If a person is a member of a professional body, they may face disciplinary proceedings and potentially removal from the profession. 6 The mass protest came days after the first three people to be charged with supporting the group were publicly named Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 Five others were arrested for assaulting police officers Credit: AFP
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Dozens to be prosecuted for supporting terror group Palestine Action after hundreds were arrested in protests
The group was proscribed last month meaning it is a criminal offence to show support TERROR PROSECUTIONS Dozens to be prosecuted for supporting terror group Palestine Action after hundreds were arrested in protests Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) COPS have charged a further 60 people for supporting Palestine Action after more than 700 arrests. The group was proscribed last month after they took credit for vandalising two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton, in an alleged £7million attack. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Police detained 522 people who were illegally supporting Palestine Action on Saturday Credit: Getty 6 Dozens could be prosecuted for backing the terror group Credit: Peter Macdiarmid 6 Organisers Defend Our Juries said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Palestine Action have also been linked to claims of serious assault on staff and police officers at a business in South Gloucestershire. Since proscription, it is a criminal offence to show support for the group - carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years. This comes after more than 15,000 people held a peaceful protest in London last weekend to support Palestine, where only one person was arrested. But cops later detained 522 people who were illegally supporting Palestine Action. Five others were arrested for assaulting police officers, two for breaching public order conditions and one for racially aggravated public order. Organisers Defend Our Juries said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square, with police preparing for the "largest mass arrest in their history". It turned out to be an even higher number of arrests made by the Metropolitan Police at a single protest than the poll tax riots of 1990, when 339 people were arrested. Clusters of officers could be seen holding people sat on the edge of the grass and escorting them through crowds to police vans. One man, who appeared to be in his 50s, was arrested after he entered a large group of police holding a homemade sign reading "I support Palestine Action". He was marched away by a group of nine cops. Record number arrested at Palestine Action protest as demonstrators bring chaos to London People waving Palestinian flags and signs reading "stop the genocide" continued to gather in the main square despite the risk of arrest. Another pair of protesters holding handwritten pro-Palestine Action banners sat on the statue of Millicent Garrett Fawcett. They were later arrested and carried away by police officers. As they were carried away the crowd shouted "shame on you". Three retired doctors in scrubs lay and sat holding signs in support of the controversial group - police surrounded them and arrested a woman, carrying her away through the crowd. Another was later carried away, with officers having to fight through an angry crowd. The mass protest came only days after the first three people to be charged with supporting the group were publicly named as Jeremy Shippam, 71, Judit Murray, also 71, and Fiona Maclean, 53. Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: 'The decisions that we have announced today are the first significant numbers to come out of the recent protests, and many more can be expected in the next few weeks. We are ready to make swift decisions in all cases where arrests have been made. 'The public has a democratic right to protest peacefully in this country, and I understand the depth of feeling around the horrific scenes in Gaza. 'However, Palestine Action is now a proscribed terrorist organisation and those who have chosen to break the law will be subject to criminal proceedings under the Terrorism Act. 'When protest conduct crosses the line from lawful activity into criminality, we have a duty to enforce the law. 'People should be clear about the real-life consequences for anyone choosing to support Palestine Action. A terrorism conviction can severely impact your life and career – it can restrict your ability to travel overseas and work in certain professions. 'I urge people to think very carefully about their actions at protests. Anyone who chooses to disobey the law will have to face the consequences.' Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley added: 'I am proud of how our police and CPS teams have worked so speedily together to overcome misguided attempts to overwhelm the justice system. If necessary, we are able to investigate and quickly charge significant numbers of people each week if people want the potentially life-changing consequences of a terrorist conviction. 'At the same time, we will continue to police the numerous protests each week where people express their views in support of Palestine without choosing to break Counter Terrorism Laws by supporting proscribed terror groups. 'To be clear, these arrests and prosecutions do not outlaw people's right to demonstrate in support of Palestine, or any other cause. They are simply the enforcement of a specific provision under the Terrorism Act in relation to a specific proscribed terrorist organisation, Palestine Action. 'Where officers see these offences, we will continue to make arrests and, as shown today, the CPS and police will work to quickly secure charges, at whatever scale is necessary.' A Home Office spokesperson said in a previous statement: "The Home Secretary has been clear that the proscription of Palestine Action is not about Palestine, nor does it affect the freedom to protest on Palestinian rights. "It only applies to the specific and narrow organisation whose activities do not reflect or represent the thousands of people across the country who continue to exercise their fundamental rights to protest on different issues." Consequences of Terrorism Act offences Source; Met Police •A maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment. •The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) will have a record of a person's TACT conviction, and this will be seen by employers who use DBS to carry out checks on staff or new applicants. The existence of a TACT conviction may be seen by employers as grounds for a refusal to employ a person or to dismiss them. •Universities also carry out DBS checks, and may refuse entry to courses to those with terrorism convictions. •Any application to visit another country usually requires a declaration of criminal convictions. A TACT conviction will be a potential bar to entry to countries including the US, Australia, Japan, and from 2026 when the ETIAS system is introduced, countries of the European Union. •If a person is a member of a professional body, they may face disciplinary proceedings and potentially removal from the profession. 6 The mass protest came days after the first three people to be charged with supporting the group were publicly named Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 Five others were arrested for assaulting police officers Credit: AFP
The Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
I watched the police arrest hundreds of peaceful protesters – I fear Britain is on a slippery slope towards authoritarianism
Last Saturday, I stood in Parliament Square and bore witness to the largest mass arrest in a single day in the last decade. The Metropolitan Police detained 532 peaceful protesters – an operation that will live in infamy. The demonstration was organised by Defend Our Juries, which had called on participants to sit peacefully on the Parliament Square lawn between 1pm and 2pm, holding signs that read: 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.' Organisers had expected around 500 people. In fact, thousands turned up. That morning, I had published an opinion piece in The Independent announcing that I would be there, holding a sign quoting Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): 'Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.' I also quoted Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, who warned that the UK government's proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation 'appears to constitute an impermissible restriction on those rights that is at odds with the UK's obligation under international human rights law'. When I arrived at 1pm, the square was surrounded by police. Hundreds of Metropolitan Police vans were stationed around the square, stretching as far as Oxford Street. Officers formed cordons to prevent people entering, but I managed to squeeze in. For nearly three hours, I stood in silence, holding my sign. The arrests began shortly after the scheduled sit-in concluded at 2pm. Officers began to position themselves to advance against the peaceful protesters seated on the lawn, and the few lying on the ground. Police reinforcements, including officers from Wales, swept into the square. Of the 532 arrests, 522 were for the simple act of holding placards supporting Palestine Action, under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. The statistics are as shocking as the scenes I saw. According to the police's own figures, 112 of those detained were in their 70s, and 15 in their 80s. Nearly half were 60 or older, with an average age of 54. The police waged a relentless campaign against the protesters. Many were frail, elderly, or disabled. I saw priests and vicars in clerical collars led away in handcuffs. I saw retired nurses and NHS healthcare workers in scrubs being taken into police vans. One of them, Nick, was interviewed, and asked if he was afraid. His reply was very moving and and it almost brought me to tears: 'I'm absolutely terrified. I'm shaking. I'll be honest with you. I nearly cried earlier. The thought of doing something like this is just awful, but it's even more awful if we don't do it. I mean, I think to myself, you know, I've seen things, not on the mass media. I've seen things that cannot ever be unseen. And if we don't protest about it, we're culpable.' I also saw Jewish protesters critical of the Israeli government's actions being arrested alongside climate and human rights activists, including Chris Romberg, 75, a former British Army colonel and the son of a Holocaust survivor. No one was spared. One image that is seared in my mind: an elderly blind man in a wheelchair being dragged away by multiple officers as demonstrators shouted 'Let him go!' and 'Shame on you, shame on you!' I also watched the police arrest a frail woman in her 80s suffering from Parkinson's disease, while her son pleaded with the officers not to arrest her. The Metropolitan Police's motto is 'Working Together for a Safer London', but it is hard to see how dedicating so many resources to policing a peaceful protest and arresting frail and elderly citizens exercising such an ancient British freedom achieves this objective. Jonathan Porritt, former environmental adviser to King Charles, referred to the UK government's policy as 'absolutely standard authoritarian tactics'. 'I've come to the conclusion that the UK government is incontrovertibly complicit in this genocide not just through the continuing sale of arms to Israel, but because of its reckless refusal to follow guidance to seek to prevent genocide in countries like Gaza.' This is exactly how states erode democratic freedoms – not in one sudden lurch, but in small, calculated steps, until dissent itself becomes a criminal offence. The decision to ban Palestine Action was itself the product of a cynical political ploy. Home secretary Yvette Cooper bundled the group together with two violent white supremacist organisations – the neo-Nazi Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russian Imperial Movement – and forced MPs to vote for all or none. Many later admitted they felt they had no choice but to approve the ban. As Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director of Human Rights Watch, has warned: 'Proscribing Palestine Action is a grave abuse of state power and a terrifying escalation in this government's crusade to curtail protest rights.' The crucial issue here is that Palestine Action exposed what it – and many of us – see as the UK's complicity in the commission of genocide by Israel against the Palestinian people. Since December 2023, the RAF has flown more than 600 surveillance missions over Gaza, reputedly to locate hostages. This is why ordinary citizens – older people, clergy, disabled protesters – were criminalised for condemning what we believe to be genocide and demanding accountability. It also begs the question: who does prime minister Keir Starmer answer to – the UK electorate, Donald Trump, or the Israeli government and its lobbying organisations? Let me be clear: I unequivocally condemn Hamas for the atrocities of 7 October 2023. I call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, and the unconditional release of all hostages. I was horrified seeing the images of an emaciated hostage. These crimes demand justice, but not through the carpet bombing of Gaza from North to South, the slaughter of civilians, and what is surely a deliberate policy of starvation of the population. Renowned human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, who has defended Guantánamo Bay detainees, has drawn direct parallels between this crackdown and authoritarian measures elsewhere: 'Supporting Palestine Action's right to protest is not the same as supporting Palestine Action. It's time for Keir Starmer to remember why human rights exist.' Even conservative voices such as Andrew Neil, who strongly disagrees with Palestine Action's aims, have condemned the terrorism designation as absurd and a waste of police time and public resources. What I saw on Saturday was not public order policing. It was the suppression of lawful dissent, and the deliberate targeting of vulnerable people to send a chilling message: no cause is safe from criminalisation. This is the logic of authoritarianism – a steady erosion of freedoms under the pretext of security. I know what authoritarianism looks like. I was born in Nicaragua. In 1981, in Honduras, I faced Salvadorian death squads armed with M16 assault rifles. I had a terrifying experience that changed the course of my life. That experience taught me the importance of bearing witness. I came to Parliament Square to stand with ordinary citizens calling attention to the genocide against the Palestinian people – and the UK government's complicity. The UK government has embarked upon a dangerous path. The right to peaceful protest, the cornerstone of our democracy – from the suffragettes to the anti-apartheid movement – is under attack. The government has conflated dissent with terrorism, and the police have acted as enforcers of political orthodoxy rather than guardians of public safety. When Benjamin Disraeli said in 1845 that 'a Conservative government is an organised hypocrisy', who could have imagined that his words would describe so aptly the current Labour government and its authoritarian home secretary? The question we must ask ourselves is simple: When history judges us, will we be remembered as those who stood against injustice, or those who stood by in silence? Parliament Square on 9 August was not just a police operation. It was a test of our democracy – and it is a test we are in danger of failing.
