High Court Rules Palestine Action Ban Unlawful
The High Court has ruled that the government acted unlawfully when it banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws in the first successful legal challenge to a proscription order of its kind. However, the group will remain banned for now as the government prepares an appeal.
Palestine Action was outlawed last July after the former home secretary Yvette Cooper moved to proscribe it, placing the direct action network in the same legal category as armed groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. The decision followed a series of incidents, including a break-in at RAF Brize Norton where two aircraft were damaged.
The ban made it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison. Even displaying its name on a T-shirt or placard could lead to a six-month sentence.
Since the ban came into force, 2,787 people have been arrested, according to the campaign group Defend Our Juries. Many were detained for holding signs reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” at silent protests. Those arrested include “priests, teachers, pensioners, retired British Army officers” and an “81-year-old former magistrate”, Ammori’s lawyer told the court.
In a judgment led by Dame Victoria Sharp, the court found that while Palestine Action had engaged in and encouraged criminal activity, the government’s blanket ban went too far. Judges said that only a small fraction of the group’s actions met the legal definition of terrorism and that the existing criminal laws could address those acts. They also found that the decision was inconsistent with the home secretary’s own policy at the time and disproportionately interfered with rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.
Responding outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori called the ruling “a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people”. She described the ban as “a Trumpian abuse of power” and said that it had “nothing to do with terrorism”.
Supporters gathered outside the court reacted with cheers as the decision was handed down. Artist Nicola Moxham, who had been arrested for supporting the group, called the outcome a “vindication” and an “absolute triumph for direct action in support of Palestine Action and opposing, most importantly, the genocide of Palestinians and destruction of Gaza”.
The current home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has said that she will challenge the ruling. “I am disappointed by the court’s decision and disagree with the notion that banning this terrorist organisation is disproportionate,” she said. “I intend to fight this judgment in the Court of Appeal.” She added that the proscription had followed a “rigorous and evidence-based decision-making process” and insisted that the ban did not prevent peaceful protest in support of Palestinians.
The court has temporarily kept the ban in place while the appeal process begins. A hearing is scheduled to decide whether the government can proceed, and the legal battle between the government and Palestine Action could continue for months.
