LONDON: Amnesty International has branded reports that police in the UK arrested 474 people at a Palestine Action protest “deeply concerning.”
It comes after a demonstration was held in Parliament Square in central London in support of the group, which was banned by the UK government earlier this year as a terrorist organization.
The Metropolitan Police said it was the largest spate of arrests it had made at a single event in over a decade, and that 466 people at the protest were arrested under the Terrorism Act.
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International’s UK chief executive, said: “The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists.
“Instead of criminalizing peaceful demonstrators, the government should be focusing on taking immediate and unequivocal action to put a stop to Israel’s genocide and ending any risk of UK complicity in it.”
Those arrested included healthcare professionals, a blind wheelchair user, and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg.
Many of the protesters were silently holding placards stating: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
The group behind the protest, Defend Our Juries, said around 700 people attended the event and that they posed “no danger to the public at large.”
Elsewhere, a woman was arrested in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for wearing a T-shirt supporting Palestine Action. The woman was detained while attending an anti-racism protest, where she was filmed being taken by police officers on suspicion of “possessing an article, namely a sign or T-shirt, that indicates support for Palestine Action.”
Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland director of Amnesty International UK, said: “Many people are justifiably angered by the ongoing genocide in Gaza and are concerned about UK complicity. Under international human rights law, they have every right to voice their concerns.
“The individual who joined a Refugees Welcome rally in Belfast was not promoting violence, and it is wholly disproportionate for the PSNI to treat her as a terrorist.
“UK terrorism laws pose a serious risk to free expression. Rather than targeting peaceful protesters, the government should be taking swift and decisive measures to end Israel’s genocide.”
Under UK terrorism legislation, membership of or support for a proscribed group is a criminal offense carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Palestine Action was banned following a series of break-ins at secure facilities in the UK, including one in which activists caused criminal damage to military aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in the town of Brize Norton.
