Palestine Action protesters arrested by police at London demo

Frankie McCamleyreporting from Parliament SquareEmma Rossiter and Adam HaleBBC NewsPA MediaAt least 365 individuals have been arrested at an illustration in London in assist of proscribed group Palestine Motion, police say.Scores of individuals concurrently unveiled handwritten indicators with the message “I oppose genocide. I assist Palestine Motion” on the protest, organised by Defend Our Juries at Westminster’s Parliament Sq..The federal government proscribed the group in July underneath the Terrorism Act of 2000, making membership of or assist for it a prison offence, punishable by as much as 14 years in jail.With the protest nonetheless ongoing, the Metropolitan Police stated anybody there who held a placard expressing assist for the group “was both arrested or is within the means of being arrested”.Footage from the sq. confirmed officers shifting among the many protesters, who have been primarily seated on the bottom, and chatting with them earlier than main them away.On X, the Met Police stated about 500 to 600 individuals have been in Parliament Sq. when the protest started, however that “many have been onlookers, media or individuals not holding placards in assist of Palestine Motion”.It stated by 18:00 BST it had arrested 365 individuals for supporting a proscribed organisation, and there have been an extra seven arrests for different offences together with 5 for assaults on cops, although none have been critically injured.Protesters whose particulars may very well be confirmed throughout processing have been bailed with situations to not attend any additional protest in assist of Palestine Motion. Individuals who refused to present their particulars or whose identities couldn’t be verified have been taken into custody.Most of the protesters did not wish to communicate to media who got here to cowl the protest, however one – who did not give her identify – informed the BBC: “In the event that they ban Palestine Motion, what different group is subsequent? Till we’re simply now not allowed to protest something. That is the other of democracy.”One other, Claudia Penna-Rojas, 27, stated: “I do not suppose anybody needs to get arrested, however I am extra involved with what is occurring to individuals in Palestine proper now, and I refuse to be a bystander.”Jacob Ecclestone, 86, stated: “I consider in freedom of speech. What this authorities is attempting to do is deeply authoritarian. And it is extraordinarily harmful.”PA MediaMost of the protesters who unveiled indicators did so whereas sitting in Parliament Sq. subsequent to the Home of CommonsAt 13:00, when Massive Ben chimed, a whole lot of individuals sat on the sq. pulled out their placards, at which level the police began making a number of arrests at a time, working their means via the crowds.Protesters patiently waited their turns. Some selected to stroll out quietly. Those that refused to maneuver, mendacity on the bottom, have been carried out by police to chants of “disgrace on you” directed on the officers.The protest comes simply days after the primary three individuals to be charged with supporting the group in England and Wales have been named.Dwelling Secretary Yvette Cooper thanked police for his or her work dealing with Palestine rights protests throughout the UK on Saturday, saying there had been a “very small variety of individuals whose actions crossed the road into criminality”.She defended the banning of Palestine Motion, which she stated was based mostly on “sturdy safety recommendation following critical assaults the group has dedicated” in addition to “plans and concepts for additional assaults, the main points of which can not but be publicly reported on account of ongoing authorized proceedings”.”Many individuals might not but know the fact of this organisation, however the assessments are very clear – this isn’t a non-violent organisation. UK nationwide safety and public security should all the time be our high precedence.”Shadow residence secretary Chris Philp stated protesters supporting Palestine Motion “ought to really feel the complete power of the legislation”.ReutersThe indicators had been ready moments earlier than they have been concurrently unveiledOrganisers Defend Our Juries claimed there have been greater than 1,000 “sign-holders” on the protest – and a big quantity had not been arrested. Responding, the Met Police stated: “That declare merely is not true.”Defend our Juries stated the turnout “reveals how repulsed and ashamed persons are about our authorities’s ongoing complicity in a livestreamed genocide”.It added that “Palestine Motion and other people holding cardboard indicators current no hazard to the general public at massive”. EPAPolice approached protesters sitting on the bottom and both led or carried them awayAs effectively because the protest by Palestine Motion, two marches have been organised by Palestine Coalition and pro-Israeli group Cease the Hate and will probably be held on consecutive days in central London.The Metropolitan Police stated it had drawn officers in from different forces to assist type a “important policing presence” within the capital because it faces a busy weekend.Forward of Saturday’s protest, greater than 200 individuals had been arrested throughout the nation for comparable causes because the ban was applied by Dwelling Secretary Yvette Cooper final month.On Thursday two girls and a person have been additionally charged with displaying assist for a proscribed terror group. They’re on account of seem at Westminster Magistrates’ Court docket on 16 September, the Metropolitan Police stated.On the finish of July, the Excessive Court docket dominated that Palestine Motion would be capable of problem its proscription. Legal professionals for the group’s co-founder Huda Ammori have argued that the ban breaches the best to free speech and has acted like a gag on professional protest. The federal government says the ban is justified as a result of it narrowly targets a gaggle that has been organising critical criminality.MPs voted to proscribe the group after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in June, spraying two Voyager plane with pink paint and inflicting £7m price of injury. Palestine Motion took duty for the incident on the time.A Dwelling Workplace spokesperson stated the choice to proscribe the group was based mostly on “sturdy safety recommendation” following “critical assaults the group had dedicated, involving violence, important accidents and intensive prison harm”.