23-07-2025
Arrested Glasgow Palestine protester to appeal city centre ban
Sean Clerkin, 64, was arrested last Friday in Glasgow when he displayed a sign that said Genocide in Palestine Time to take Action with the words Palestine and Action in larger letters than the rest.
Police said it showed support for Palestine Action, a group that is proscribed in the UK under the Terrorism Act, and he was arrested.
He said given the number of arrests across the UK, he fears freedom of speech is under attack.
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Mr Clerkin was given Police bail and he had to sign an undertaking not to enter the city centre until his court appearance later in the year.
(Image: Gordon Terris)
He has said it is 'draconian' and has engaged a solicitor to challenge it.
The activist said: 'I can't enter the city centre but I can speak out against the ban.'
The activist, who is campaign co-ordinator for the Scottish Tenants Organisation spoke to the Glasgow Times, at a location outside the zone he is excluded from, to tell of the impact it will have on his voluntary work and family life.
Clerkin said: 'What I was doing was speaking out against genocide and the killing of children.'
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He also said he is not a supporter of Palestine Action or their methods but he said the group should be de-proscribed.
The group was banned under the Terrorism Act after members broke into an RAF base in England, causing damage.
Clerkin said: 'I qualified my support in saying I support de-proscription as a terrorist organisation but I don't support them doing criminal damage. I don't agree with the destruction of property.
'I am not a member of Palestine Action. I am not a supporter of Palestine Action.'
Mr Clerkin, said there are wider implications for democracy in the UK following a number of arrests of people alleged to have shown support for the organisation.
He said: 'This is a battle for freedom of speech. Civil liberties are being attacked.
'If this is not the start of the road to a politicised police state, I don't know what is.'
He fears other groups will be targeted for the same treatment.
He said: 'Where does it stop?
'This is Orwellian. It is 1984 in operation.'
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The protester said he was 'treated very well' by the police when he was detained but he worries how the Police are being directed by the government.
He added: 'This is policing like Soviet era, eastern European regime standards.'
His exclusion zone extends from Charing Cross in the west to beyond Glasgow Cross in the east and from Renfrew Street in the north to the south of the River Clyde.
He said it will have a disproportionate effect on his life.
Mr Clerkin said: 'It is my daughter's birthday next week. To go and see her, I will need to think about how I can get there, as I can't even travel through the city centre on public transport.
'It could end up costing me a lot more than it should.
'I regularly met tenants and people with homelessness issues in the city centre and represent people at meetings and hearings.'
If he is found guilty, he faces up to 14 years in jail.
He said: 'I'm not guilty of any crime. All I did was hold a poster. I hope sanity will prevail and the rule of law will prevail.
'I want a jury trial. If the penalty can be a lengthy jail sentence, it should be on a verdict based on the judgment of my peers.'
