Challenge to British Government's Attempt at Criminalization Under Anti-Terrorism Laws
The organization
Palestine Action is challenging the British government's attempt
to
criminalize its work to end the U.S./Israeli genocide using
anti-terrorism laws.
It is well-known that in those countries associated with the U.S.-led global "war on terrorism" -- of which the UK is a leading participant -- the definition of "terrorism" is vague, arbitrary and self-serving. It is meant to target, isolate and criminalize the progressive forces on a political basis to serve the interests of the ruling circles.
In this case, the British government is trying to cover up its unconscionable complicity in the U.S./Israeli genocidal war in Gaza, which it is providing with arms and the use of its air base in Cyprus to wage their bombing campaign, as well as political support.
The British Parliament voted 385 to 26 on July 2 to proscribe Palestine Action as a "terrorist" organization under the Terrorism Act 2000. Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, asked London's High Court to give the go-ahead for a full legal challenge to the group's proscription.
Proscription makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Supporters of the group are also being criminalized. Since early July, dozens of people have been arrested for holding placards supporting Palestine Action and Ammori's lawyers say those supporting the Palestinian cause have been subject to increased police scrutiny.
On July 30, Judge Martin Chamberlain granted permission for Ammori to bring a judicial review, saying that her case -- that proscription amounted to a disproportionate interference with her and others' right to freedom of expression -- is "reasonably arguable."
The UK government website explains that under the Terrorism Act 2000, "the Home Secretary may proscribe an organization if they believe it is concerned in terrorism, and it is proportionate to do. For the purposes of the act, this means that the organization:
- commits or participates in acts of terrorism
-
prepares for terrorism
- promotes or encourages terrorism
(including the unlawful glorification of terrorism)
- is
otherwise concerned in terrorism."
The UK
government's website says, "In considering whether to exercise
this
discretion [to proscribe an organization], the Home Secretary
will
take into account other factors, including:
- the nature and scale of an organization's activities
-
the specific threat that it poses to the UK
- the specific
threat that it poses to British nationals overseas
- the
extent of the organization's presence in the UK
- the need to
support other members of the international community in the
global
fight against terrorism."
"The British government deciding that Palestine Action should be proscribed as a "terrorist" organization is insanity, but not quite as insane as the continued support of Israel, an apartheid and genocidal state," a Palestine Action activist told Peoples Dispatch at the time of the vote in British Parliament. The activist added that the goal of this decision goes much further than a single group, saying, "This is about silencing support of Palestine and silencing support of the resistance. Whilst mainstream media and everyone's focus is on this, Israel is still murdering Palestinians daily."
Ahead of the vote, a group of UN experts urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer's administration to reconsider, warning that the terrorism charges cited by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper are misleading and risk setting a dangerous precedent. Rather than addressing genuine acts of terror, the experts argued, the move will impact individuals exercising their rights to free opinion, peaceful assembly, and political participation. "This would have a chilling effect on political protest and advocacy generally in relation to defending human rights in Palestine," the experts wrote.
The Palestinian
Youth Movement said of the proscription of Palestine Action, "In
coming
to this decision, the government has decided that an Israeli
arms
manufacturer has more rights than a British citizen who cannot
abide
killing and maiming." Independent MP Zarah Sultana said,
"[Palestine
Action's] true offence is being audacious enough to expose the
blood
soaked ties between this government and the genocidal Israeli
apartheid
state and its war machine." Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn told Drop
Site, "As the government criminalizes those engaged in
protesting a genocide, it
continues to shamefully facilitate the real violence these
protestors
oppose."
In related news, British activists Chris Nineham of Stop the War Coalition and Ben Jamal from Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) are both to stand trial in what the PSC calls a "political attack designed to suppress solidarity with the Palestinian people." The trial, scheduled for July, has been postponed to February 2026. A joint statement on the Stop the War Coalition website says in part, "The postponement has fundamentally been caused by prosecution attempts -- very late in the day -- to bolster their case, and their refusal to disclose material which could be useful for the defence.
"The trial has now been extended to six days. The fact that it is happening at all, is an attack on everyone who has demonstrated and protested for Palestine over the last twenty months.
"The outcome will be critical for the way policing of protest is conducted in this country.
"The attempt to silence solidarity for the Palestinian people in this country is part of a global effort to isolate the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation. It is not working and will not work."
(With files from People's Dispatch, Reuters, UK Government, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition)
This article was published in
Volume 55
Number 21 - August 3, 2025
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2025/Articles/TS55219.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca