UK ban on pro-Palestine group branded 'authoritarian' as appeal begins

Palestine Action was proscribed in July, putting it on a par with Islamic State or al Qaeda and making it a crime to be a member.

The British government's ban on pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation amounted to an authoritarian restriction on protest, lawyers representing a co-founder seeking to overturn the ban argued on Wednesday.

More than 2,000 people have been arrested for holding signs in support of the group. (AFP )

Palestine Action was proscribed in July, putting it on a par with Islamic State or al Qaeda and making it a crime to be a member, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Since then, more than 2,000 people have been arrested for holding signs in support of the group.

The group had increasingly targeted Israel-linked defence companies in Britain with "direct action", often blocking entrances, or spraying red paint, particularly focusing on Israel's largest defence firm Elbit Systems.

Britain's Home Office (interior ministry) argues the group's escalating actions, culminating in a June break-in at the RAF Brize Norton air base when activists damaged two planes, amount to terrorism.

But lawyers representing Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action in 2020, say the move flies in the face of Britain's long history of direct action protests and is "so extreme as to render the UK an international outlier".

It was the first time a "direct action, civil disobedience organisation that does not advocate for violence" had been proscribed as terrorist, Ammori's lawyer Raza Husain told London's High Court.

He compared the response to the group to that of other civil disobedience campaigns, such as Rosa Parks, the late U.S. civil rights figure who refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in 1955, and the suffragette movement which campaigned for women's right to vote in the early 20th century.

Lawyers representing the Home Office said in court filings that the right to freedom of expression does not protect "speech and activity in support of a proscribed organisation that commits serious property damage".

Palestine Action has frequently targeted defence companies. It stepped up its actions during the Gaza war, with six members arrested on suspicion of plotting to disrupt the London Stock Exchange in January 2024.

Six people went on trial last week for aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder over a raid on Elbit, with one charged with causing grievous bodily harm by hitting a police officer with a sledgehammer. They deny the charges.

Ammori's lawyers say the ban has led to pro-Palestinian protesters being questioned by police at demonstrations without expressing support for Palestine Action.

The British government argues proscription only prevents support for Palestine Action and has not prevented people from protesting "in favour of the Palestinian people or against Israel's actions in Gaza".

The case is due to conclude next week, with a ruling at a later date.