Latest news with #SachaDeshmukh
Middle East Eye
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Dozens arrested at London demonstration against proscription of Palestine Action
Fifty-five people have been arrested in London at a rally against the proscription of Palestine Action outside the UK parliament on Saturday, according to the Metropolitan Police. Demonstrators gathered in support of the organisation, which was proscribed under anti-terror laws earlier this month. They held up placards reading "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action" before police began bundling attendees into vans. Similar protests took place in Edinburgh, Cornwall and other parts of the country, also leading to arrests. A counter-demonstration by pro-Israel activists in London - holding placards that read "there is no genocide" and describing the population of Gaza as "2 million human shields" - was shielded by police. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The government proscribed the activist group under anti-terror laws on 4 July, following an incident in which members broke into RAF Brize Norton earlier this month and spray-painted two planes they said were 'used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East". The legislation made membership of and support for the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison - the first time a direct action group has been proscribed in the UK as a terrorist group. UN experts, human rights groups, and leading figures have condemned the ban as draconian, warning that it will have adverse consequences for the freedom of expression and implications for the rule of law. 'Terrorism legislation hands the authorities massive powers to arrest and detain people, suppress speech and reporting, conduct surveillance, and take other measures that would never be permitted in other circumstances,' Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK's chief executive, said in a statement ahead of the ban. 'Using them against a direct-action protest group is an egregious abuse of what they were created for."
Canada News.Net
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
94% of UK parliamentarians move to ban Palestine support group
LONDON, UK - Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have voted overwhelmingly to proscribe the direct-action group Palestine Action as a "terrorist" organisation, placing it on the same list as armed groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). The move, approved by an overwhelming vote of 385-26 in Parliament on Wednesday, has sparked fierce backlash from human rights groups, legal experts, and some politicians who warn it threatens freedom of expression and protest. The ban comes after Palestine Action activists stormed a military base last month, spraying red paint on two planes in protest against the UK's support for Israel's war on Gaza. The government claims the group has caused millions of pounds in damages through similar actions targeting arms companies linked to Israel, including Elbit Systems and Thales. Critics argue the classification is a dangerous overreach. Zarah Sultana, a Labour MP, condemned the decision, stating: " To equate a spray can of paint with a suicide bomb isn't just absurd, it is grotesque. It is a deliberate distortion of the law to chill dissent, criminalise solidarity, and suppress the truth." Amnesty International UK's chief executive, Sacha Deshmukh, called it an " unprecedented legal overreach," warning it grants authorities "massive powers to arrest and detain people, suppress speech and reporting, conduct surveillance and take other measures." He added: "Using them against a direct-action protest group is an egregious abuse of what they were created for." Outside Westminster, protesters vowed defiance. Al Jazeera's Milena Veselinovic reported that demonstrators said they would "still find a way to show support" even at risk of arrest, with some declaring imprisonment "not the worst thing in the world." The ban, supported by 94 percent of Britain's parliament, must still pass the House of Lords on Thursday. If it does pass, it would criminalise membership or support for Palestine Action. The group has called the move an "abuse of power" and is challenging it in court, with an urgent hearing expected Friday. UN Experts Warn Against "Terrorism" Label for Property Damage Earlier this year, UN Human Rights Council experts urged the UK to reconsider, arguing that property damage without intent to harm life should not constitute terrorism. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the decision, stating: "Violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest. A zero-tolerance approach is necessary for national security." The proscription order also includes the neo-Nazi Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russian Imperial Movement, a white supremacist group. Al Jazeera's Veselinovic noted lawmakers felt "boxed in" —rejecting the motion would have blocked bans on the other two groups. Palestine Action, formed in 2020, uses disruptive tactics against arms firms tied to Israel. This week, activists blocked an Elbit site in Bristol and occupied a subcontractor's roof in Suffolk.
Al Jazeera
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
UK lawmakers vote to ban Palestine Action as ‘terrorist' group
Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have voted to proscribe campaign group Palestine Action as a 'terrorist' organisation, raising fears about freedom of expression in the country. Parliament voted 385-26 in favour of the measure against the group on Wednesday, the move coming after its activists broke into a military base last month and sprayed red paint on two planes in protest at the UK's support for Israel's war on Gaza. Critics decried the chilling effect of the ban, which puts Palestine Action on a par with armed groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS) in the UK, making it a criminal offence to support or be part of the protest group. 'Let us be clear: to equate a spray can of paint with a suicide bomb isn't just absurd, it is grotesque. It is a deliberate distortion of the law to chill dissent, criminalise solidarity, and suppress the truth,' said lawmaker Zarah Sultana, a member of the ruling Labour party. Zarah Sultana not only stands against the proscription of our group, she declares we are all Palestine Action❤️ — Palestine Action (@Pal_action) July 2, 2025 Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, slammed the move as 'unprecedented legal overreach', pointing out that it gave the authorities 'massive powers to arrest and detain people, suppress speech and reporting, conduct surveillance and take other measures'. 'Using them against a direct-action protest group is an egregious abuse of what they were created for,' he said. The proscription order will reach parliament's upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Thursday. If approved there, the ban on Palestine Action would become effective in the following days. The group, which has called its proscription unjustified and an 'abuse of power,' has challenged the decision in court and an urgent hearing is expected on Friday. Zero tolerance Launched in July 2020, Palestine Action says it uses 'disruptive tactics' to target 'corporate enablers' and companies involved in weapons manufacture for Israel, such as Israel-based Elbit Systems and French multinational Thales. The British government has accused the group of causing millions of pounds of damage through its actions. On Tuesday, the group said its activists had blocked the entrance to an Elbit site in Bristol, southwestern England. Other members reportedly occupied the rooftop of a subcontracting firm in Suffolk, eastern England, that the group had linked to Elbit. United Nations experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council had previously urged the UK government to reconsider its threat to proscribe the group, arguing that acts of property damage without the intention to endanger life should not be considered 'terrorism'. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the UK's interior minister, says that violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest, and that a zero-tolerance approach was necessary for national security. In addition to Palestine Action, the proscription order approved by parliament includes neo-Nazi group Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russian Imperial Movement, a white supremacist group which seeks to create a new Russian imperial state.
Roya News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
High Court rules UK can continue supplying F-35 components to 'Israel'
A British High Court dismissed a legal challenge aimed at stopping the UK's involvement in supplying spare parts for F-35 fighter jets used by 'Israel' in its military campaign in Gaza, ruling the issue falls outside the judiciary's constitutional authority. The case, brought by Palestinian rights organization Al-Haq and the Global Legal Action Network, sought to force the UK to withdraw from a multilateral defense program with the United States, which manufactures the F-35 jets. The UK provides around 15 percent of every jet's components, many of which are pooled and accessible to 'Israel' through the international program. The government had previously suspended about 30 arms export licenses to 'Israel' in September 2023 over concerns that British-made weapons might be used in violations of international humanitarian law. However, it argued that fully exiting the F-35 program could jeopardize international security cooperation and damage relations with key allies such as the US and NATO. The two presiding judges ruled that decisions of such political and diplomatic sensitivity rest with the executive branch, not the courts. 'That acutely sensitive and political issue is a matter for the executive which is democratically accountable to parliament and ultimately to the electorate, not for the courts,' they said. Human rights organizations reacted with strong disappointment. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which intervened in the case, criticized the ruling as a failure to uphold the UK's international legal obligations. 'The horrifying reality in Gaza is unfolding in full view of the world: entire families obliterated, civilians killed in so-called safe zones, hospitals reduced to rubble, and a population driven into starvation by a cruel blockade and forced displacement,' said Sacha Deshmukh, CEO of Amnesty International UK. 'This judgment does not change the facts on the ground, nor does it absolve the UK government of its responsibilities under international law.' Oxfam, which also submitted evidence, condemned the UK's ongoing participation in the F-35 program. 'It is unconscionable that the government would continue to license the sale of components for F-35 jets knowing that they are used to deliberately attack civilians in Gaza and destroy their means of survival, including vital water supplies,' the organization said in a statement. The government responded by saying it will continue to review defense export licenses, adding, 'The court has upheld this government's thorough and lawful decision-making on this matter.'
BBC News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
UK F-35 parts exports to Israel is lawful, High Court rules
The UK's High Court has rejected a case brought by campaigners trying to stop the transfer to Israel of all British-made spare parts for US-produced F-35 fighter jets, saying it didn't have the constitutional authority to government suspended about 30 arms export licences to Israel last September because of a risk of UK-made weapons being used in violations of international law in the Gaza the UK supplies components to a global pool of F-35s which Israel can access. The government had argued it could not pull out of the defence programme without endangering international International and Human Rights Watch expressed their dismay at the ruling. Both groups had intervened in the case. "The horrifying reality in Gaza is unfolding in full view of the world: entire families obliterated, civilians killed in so-called safe zones, hospitals reduced to rubble, and a population driven into starvation by a cruel blockade and forced displacement," said Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK."This judgment does not change the facts on the ground, nor does it absolve the UK government of its responsibilities under international law."The two judges said the case was not about whether the UK should supply arms and other military equipment to Israel - because the government had decided it should were being asked to decide on a particular issue: whether the UK "must withdraw from a specific multilateral defence collaboration" because of the prospect that some UK-manufactured parts may be supplied to Israel and used in contravention of international law in the conflict in Gaza."Under our constitution, that acutely sensitive and political issue is a matter for the executive which is democratically accountable to parliament and ultimately to the electorate, not for the courts," they industry makes 15% of every F-35, according to the Campaign Against the Arms which provided evidence to the court, said: "It is unconscionable that the government would continue to license the sale of components for F-35 jets knowing that they are used to deliberately attack civilians in Gaza and destroy their means of survival, including vital water supplies."The case was brought by al-Haq, a group based in the Israel-occupied West Bank, and the Global Legal Action Network against the Department for Business and court said that Business Minister Jonathan Reynolds was "faced with the blunt choice of accepting the F-35 carve out or withdrawing from the F-35 programme and accepting all the defence and diplomatic consequences which would ensue".The government also argued pulling out of the defence programme could undermine US confidence in the UK and human rights groups argue that the global rule of law is under threat over Gaza."The atrocities we are witnessing in Gaza are precisely because governments don't think the rules should apply to them," said Yasmine Ahmed, UK director of Human Rights Watch. "Judicial deference to the executive in this case has left the Palestinians in Gaza without access to the protections of international law, despite the government and the court acknowledging that there is a serious risk that UK equipment might be used to facilitate or carry out atrocities against them."The government says it will continue to keep its defence export licensing under review."The court has upheld this government's thorough and lawful decision-making on this matter," a spokesman for the human rights groups are considering if they can find grounds to appeal.
