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Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Met Police arrest Palestine Action protesters as they hold demo one day after group was banned as terrorist organisation
Protesters gathering in Parliament Square on Saturday holding signs supporting Palestine Action are being arrested by police just hours after a ban on the organisation came into effect. Around 20 people, including a priest, professor and an emergency care worker who is just back from Gaza, sat in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament Square on Saturday expressing support for the group, which is now a proscribed terrorist organisation. They held signs saying: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' Shortly after their arrival, police officers could be seen engaging with the protesters and the Met said it had began making arrests. Several people were seen being carried away by officers. A spokesperson for the force said: 'Officers are responding to a protest in support of Palestine Action in Parliament Square. 'The group is now proscribed and expressing support for them is a criminal offence. Arrests are being made.' The group said today's protest will be the first in a series of actions which will see activists take to Parliament Square every week. It comes after the Home Office today welcomed the ban on Palestine Action, with the group failing to block its proscription as a terrorist organisation in a late-night legal bid. Lawyers representing co-founder Huda Ammori, whose father is Palestinian, asked for the decision to be delayed at least until July 21. The designation as a terror group means that membership of or support for Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Palestine Action argues it is a protest group that has never incited or encouraged violence, but does support civil disobedience. Activists protest against the continuing war in Gaza, which has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians since October 7 - when 1,200 Israelis were killed by a Hamas incursion into the country. One of those protesting today is former government lawyer Tim Crosland. He said: 'There are already 18 Palestine Actionists held in UK prisons without a trial, following lobbying by the Israeli government and Elbit Systems, the leading supplier of the machinery of genocide. 'If we cannot speak freely about the genocide of Palestinians, if we cannot condemn those who enable it and praise those who resist it, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning, and democracy in this country is dead.' The Met Police issued a warning ahead of the protest, stating there are a number of events taking place in London this weekend and 'anyone attending should be aware that officers policing these will act where criminal offences, including those related to support of proscribed groups or organisations, are committed'. Proscription makes it a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) to invite or express support for an organisation through chanting, wearing clothing or displaying articles such as flags, signs or logos, the Met said. The group's social media pages were removed overnight on Friday, with leaders stating this was due to the risk of people being prosecuted for liking or sharing posts online Palestine Action lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday evening, which sought to stop it being banned, less than two hours before the move came into force at midnight It is also illegal to belong to the organisation or publish similar signs of support online. Police arresting protesters in Parliament Square were met with cries of 'Met Police you are puppets of the Zionist state' and 'leave them alone'. Another supporter, not directly involved in the Palestine Action protest, shouted: 'Who do you protect? Who do you serve?' There were also chants of 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'. Palestine Action lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday evening, which sought to stop it being banned, less than two hours before the move came into force at midnight. Large crowds gathered outside the Court of Appeal yesterday in support of Palestinians. The group's social media pages were removed overnight on Friday, with leaders stating this was due to the risk of people being prosecuted for liking or sharing posts online. A Home Office spokesperson said on Saturday: 'We welcome the Court's decision and Palestine Action are now a proscribed group. 'The Government will always take the strongest possible action to protect our national security and our priority remains maintaining the safety and security of our citizens.' The move to ban the organisation was announced after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused around £7 million of damage. In a letter to the Home Secretary, protesters said: 'We do not wish to go to prison or to be branded with a terrorism conviction. But we refuse to be cowed into silence by your order.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action on June 23, stating that the vandalism of the two planes was 'disgraceful' and that the group had a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage'. MPs in the Commons voted 385 to 26, majority 359, in favour of proscribing the group on Wednesday, before the House of Lords backed the move without a vote on Thursday. Four people - Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Jony Cink, 24, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, and Lewis Chiaramello, 22 - have all been charged in connection with the incident at Brize Norton. They appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday after being charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage, under the Criminal Law Act 1977.


South China Morning Post
20 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Palestine Action designated a terror group by UK after failed legal action
A UK ban against Palestine Action has come into force, designating it as a terror group after a late-night legal bid to delay it failed. Advertisement It makes membership of, or support for, the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The move to ban the organisation was announced after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused around £7 million (US$9.5 million) worth of damage. In response to the ban, a group of around 20 people was set to gather and sit in front of the Gandhi statue in London's Parliament Square on Saturday afternoon, according to campaign group Defend Our Juries. They will hold signs saying: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' Advertisement The newly proscribed group lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday to temporarily stop it being banned, less than two hours before the move came into force at midnight.


The Hindu
21-06-2025
- The Hindu
International Yoga Day: Puducherry CM Rangasamy highlights importance of yoga in maintaining good health
A mass yoga training session was held near the Gandhi Statue on the Beach Road as part of 11th International Yoga Day observance in Puducherry on Saturday (June 21, 2025.) Organised jointly by the Departments of Tourism, Education, Ayush and Puducherry Pollution Control Committee, the training session saw active participation by Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan, Speaker R Selvam, Home Minister A. Namassivayam, Chief Secretary Sharat Chauhan, Director General of Police Shalini Singh and other senior officials. International Yoga Day LIVE updates: Yoga teaches us we are not isolated individuals but integral parts of nature: PM Modi Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and Tourism Minister K. Lakshminarayanan attended the inaugural function of the training session. The Chief Minister in his address highlighted the importance of yoga in maintaining good health. 'Yoga is a practice given to us by our saints for a healthy living. Yoga teaches us the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between the body and mind. We have to adopt yoga as part of daily routine to live a healthy life,' he said. Several other yoga training sessions were organised by government and private institutions as part of the International Yoga Day celebrations in Puducherry. Around 400 people, including students and international guests participated in a yoga training session organised by Auroville. The session commenced with a brief meditation accompanied by The Mother's music.