Latest news with #MariaGallastegui
Scottish Sun
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Pro-Palestine protester dressed as Holocaust victim goes unchallenged by Met cops — amid claims of two-tier policing
Labour Against Antisemitism also slammed the outfit for 'appropriating and distorting the Holocaust' NO ACTION Pro-Palestine protester dressed as Holocaust victim goes unchallenged by Met cops — amid claims of two-tier policing Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A PROTESTER dressed as a Holocaust victim goes unchallenged by Met cops — amid claims of two-tier policing. Maria Gallastegui sparked outrage by wearing a concentration camp-style uniform - swapping the yellow star for an Islamic symbol - at a Westminster demo. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 While ignoring the sick Holocaust stunt, it's claimed officers warned men waving Israeli flags Credit: Alamy 2 Cops look away and take no action against a protester dressed as a Holocaust victim - sparking claims of two-tier policing Credit: Alamy Jewish leaders and MPs hit out at the Met, claiming officers warned men waving Israeli flags they could breach the peace but ignored Ms Gallastegui's stunt. It comes after a man was prosecuted for burning a Koran in London, fuelling claims of 'double standards' in policing. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: 'We appear to have a two-tier blasphemy law in this country, which protects Islam from offensive references but not others.' Labour Against Antisemitism also slammed the outfit for 'appropriating and distorting the Holocaust.' The group said it 'was clearly designed to cause distress'. They have written to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley demanding action over the protest outside Parliament. Ms Gallastegui, 66, defended herself, saying: 'This is a history lesson for now, and by no means is it meant to be anti-Semitic. Changing the symbols of the yellow star to the crescent and star is simply to illustrate that point.'
The Sun
5 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Pro-Palestine protester dressed as Holocaust victim goes unchallenged by Met cops — amid claims of two-tier policing
A PROTESTER dressed as a Holocaust victim goes unchallenged by Met cops — amid claims of two-tier policing. Maria Gallastegui sparked outrage by wearing a concentration camp-style uniform - swapping the yellow star for an Islamic symbol - at a Westminster demo. 2 2 Jewish leaders and MPs hit out at the Met, claiming officers warned men waving Israeli flags they could breach the peace but ignored Ms Gallastegui's stunt. It comes after a man was prosecuted for burning a Koran in London, fuelling claims of 'double standards' in policing. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: 'We appear to have a two-tier blasphemy law in this country, which protects Islam from offensive references but not others.' Labour Against Antisemitism also slammed the outfit for 'appropriating and distorting the Holocaust.' The group said it 'was clearly designed to cause distress'. They have written to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley demanding action over the protest outside Parliament. Ms Gallastegui, 66, defended herself, saying: 'This is a history lesson for now, and by no means is it meant to be anti-Semitic. Changing the symbols of the yellow star to the crescent and star is simply to illustrate that point.'
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Outrage as pro-Palestine protester dresses as Holocaust victim at demo but is allowed to continue by police
A pro-Palestine protester has caused outrage by dressing up as a Holocaust victim at a protest in London 's Trafalgar Square. Activist Maria Gallastegui was seen wearing a striped uniform that hearkens back to those worn by the tragic victims of the Holocaust at concentration camps in Nazi-occupied Europe. But instead of the Star of David, Gallastegui placed a star and crescent, a symbol often associated with Islam. She also held a sign referring to Palestine Action, which was designated a terror group following a stunt at an RAF airbase that saw its members While 13 people were arrested and seven people were charged following Monday's protest in solidarity with Palestine Action in the heart of London, Gallastegui was not one of them. According to the Telegraph, 66-year-old Gallastegui is a full-time protester who left her life as a coach driver behind nearly 20 years ago. Over the past two decades, she has reportedly been arrested several times - including once during a demonstration for the right to protest in August 2005. She became infamous for living in a tent in Parliament Square for six years after joining a campaign against proposals to restrict protests in front of the Houses of Parliament. Gallastegui was also interviewed by the BBC in 2021 over a live-in protest that saw her sleep in a 150-year-old tree in Hackney that was set to be felled to make way for a 600-home development. She said at the time: 'We are passionate people. Any campaign that we can think of doesn't start overnight. There are a lot of underlying issues that the system is not dealing with.' Monday's protest saw Palestine Action activists clash with police in ugly scenes during a mass protest in London as the Government moves to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation. Hundreds of protesters waving Palestinian flags and holding placards gathered at Trafalgar Square as the group's leaders called for an 'emergency mobilisation' in response to the Government's plans. The Palestine Action protest came just days after two of its members broke into RAF Brize Norton and damaged two military planes in a stunt condemned by MPs including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. It is feared one engine of a plane targeted at Britain's largest RAF base is damaged beyond repair and could cost £25million to replace. The group, whose Brize Norton ambush is being treated by counter-terrorism police, have conducted 356 attacks on sites across the UK in the last five years - with Ms Cooper revealing the damage caused is 'running into the millions of pounds'. Monday's demonstration was initially due to be staged outside Parliament but protesters were forced to descend on Trafalgar Square instead after the Metropolitan Police imposed an exclusion zone. Monday's protest saw Palestine Action activists clash with police in ugly scenes during a mass protest in London Protesters, some wearing black face coverings or Palestinian keffiyehs, were seen scuffling with police and shouting up close into their faces, with officers forced to drag activists out of the crowds. Officers were seen surging into the crowd to detain masked protesters, prompting activists to respond by pushing back, throwing water and chanting at police. Pro-Palestine protesters also clashed with a small group of pro-Israeli counter-demonstrators who were swiftly escorted out to the sound of jeers.
Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Two-tier policing row over Palestine protester dressed as Holocaust victim
Scotland Yard has been accused of 'two-tier' justice after police ignored a Palestine protester dressed as a Holocaust concentration camp inmate. Jewish leaders and MPs criticised the 'religiously aggravated' outfit worn by Maria Gallastegui, in which she replaced the star worn by inmates with an Islamic symbol. They complained that the police failed to challenge a protest 'clearly designed to cause distress', but warned men 'waving Israeli flags' at a Palestine Action march they could be guilty of breaching the peace. Ms Gallastegui, 66, a full-time protester who gave up her job as a coach driver nearly 20 years ago for a life of activism, joined a protest against plans to ban the group Palestine Action after its activists attacked RAF aircraft with paint. Critics contrasted her treatment with that of Hamit Coskun, who was prosecuted and fined for a religiously aggravated public order offence after he set fire to a Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London. Free speech advocates argue that offensive behaviour should not be criminalised, regardless of whether it is committed by protesters against Islam, such as Mr Coskun, or against Israel. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said: 'We appear to have a two-tier blasphemy law in this country, which protects Islam from offensive references, but not others.' Alex Hearn, of Labour Against Antisemitism (LAAS), said: 'Dressing as a concentration camp inmate, with the yellow patch replaced by an Islamic symbol, has caused many people upset. 'This religiously aggravated performance appropriated and distorted the Holocaust and was clearly designed to cause distress. It's shocking that while police act swiftly on less obvious public offences, this blatant display went unchallenged at the heart of our democracy.' LAAS has written to Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, asking him to investigate the incident as a potentially religiously aggravated offence that had 'appropriated and distorted the Holocaust' and risked 'trivialising the suffering of six million Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution'. Ms Gallastegui has been arrested previously over the past two decades including during a protest for the right to protest in Parliament Square in August 2005. She previously lived in a tent in Parliament Square for six years after joining the campaign against proposals to change the law to restrict protests in front of the Commons and Lords. In 2021, she lived and slept in a 150 year old tree in Hackney to challenge the council's 'reckless' and 'irresponsible' plans to fell it to make way for a 600-home development. 'We are passionate people,' she previously told the BBC at the time. 'Any campaign that we can think of doesn't start overnight. There are a lot of underlying issues that the system is not dealing with.' A supporter of Julian Assange, the the Wikileaks co-founder, she was banned from going within 100 yards of Belmarsh prison after she damaged a wall in a mock jail break attempt while he was held in the jail. Ms Gallastegui used a drill against a prison wall, where he was held during his lengthy battle to avoid extradition to the US, next to a sign that said 'jailbreak in progress'. 'Priti Patel Save Julian Assange' was also sprayed on the wall during the stunt. She previously appeared dressed in the Holocaust outfit in a protest to support Kneecap, the Irish republican rap group, after one of the band's members was charged with a terror offence for displaying a flag in support of Hamas, which is proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK. At Monday's protest, Ms Gallastegui was pictured carrying a placard that said: 'We are all Palestine Action,' a message that could lead to criminal action once the group is proscribed. Anyone who is a member of or supports Palestine Action could face up to 14 years in jail once its proscription is enacted in the next fortnight. One Jewish observer said: 'One cannot help but conclude that if the police do not stand with us against this hatred, then they stand with those who hate us. There is no middle ground when it comes to abusing the memory of the Holocaust. It is done as a deliberate act of provocation and religious division.' Ms Gallastegui issued a statement, saying: 'Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp was liberated by the British Army in 1945 following WW2. 'The world was shocked and horrified at the appalling sight of the starving, emaciated prisoners and the piles of decaying bodies in their stripped uniforms. 'Afterwards, the international community affirmed never to let this happen again. 'Never Again'. Fast forward to now, and the same scenario is being carried out again - but this time the concentration camp and the people being deliberately starved are the people of Gaza. 'This is a history lesson for now, and by no means is it meant to be anti-Semitic. Changing the symbols of the yellow star to the crescent and star is simply to illustrate that point.'
