Police arrest 474 at Palestine Action ban protest

At a London protest in favor of banned group Palestine Action, police arrested 474 people. Five protesters were arrested for attacking police officers, two for public order arrests, and one for a racially aggravated offence, according to the Metropolitan Police. Hundreds of people were simultaneously handed over handwritten signs with the words

I oppose genocide. At the march, organized by Defend Our Juries, I support Palestine Action

in Westminster's Parliament Square. It was the largest demonstration since the government banned the group in July under the Terrorism Act of 2000, making membership or support for it a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

No officers were seriously wounded, and the Met Police said the number of arrests was the highest made by the police in a single day in the last ten years. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper thanked police for their response, but charity Amnesty International described the mass arrests as

deeply troubling. Officers were seen walking among the demonstrators, who were mainly seated on the ground, and talking to them before leading them away. Protesters who might have been notified during processing were refused permission to attend any further demonstration in favor of Palestine Action. People who refused to reveal their information or whose identities could not be verified were arrested. Many of the protesters didn't want to talk to journalists who were attending the parade, but one - who didn' t give her name - told the BBC:

If they prohibit Palestine Action, what other group is next? We are still not allowed to protest anything before we're no longer allowed to do so. That's the opposite of democracy. Claudia Penna-Rojas, 27, said:

I don't think anyone wants to be arrested, but I'm more concerned about what is going wrong in Palestine right now, and I refuse to be a bystander.

I believe in the freedom of expression," Jacob Ecclestone, 86, said. This government is trying to do something deeply authoritarian. And it's extremely dangerous.

Earlier, the Met Police said that about 500 to 600 people were in Parliament Square when the demonstration began, but that

many were onlookers, television, or people not holding placards in favor of Palestine Action. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside their placards at 13 00 p. M. , when Big Ben chimed, at which point the police began making multiple arrests at a time, navigating their way through the crowds. Protesters patiently waited their turns. Some chose to walk out quietly. Many who refused to move, lying on the ground, were arrested by police to chants of

shame on you" directed at the officers.

The demonstration came just days after the first three people suspected of supporting the group in England and Wales were announced. On Saturday, Yvette Cooper thanked police for their efforts in defending Palestine rights demonstrations around the UK, noting that a

very small number of people whose behavior crossed the line into criminality

was to blame. She defended the banning of Palestine Action, which she said was based on serious threats, as well as

plans and proposals for new threats that cannot be announced due to ongoing court hearings.

Many people may not have known the truth of this company, but the findings are quite straightforward: this is not a nonviolent organisation. Our top priority should always be UK national security and public safety. Protesters supporting Palestine Action, according to Shadow home secretary Chris Philp, "should have the full force of the law.

People who were

entitled under international human rights law to represent their horror,

said Sacha Deshmukh's chief executive.

The demonstrators in Parliament Square were not inciting violence, and it is entirely unnecessary to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists,

he said.

We've long criticized UK terrorism law for being overspacious and vague, as well as a threat to freedom of expression. These arrests show that our suspicions were legitimate. The laws governing the protesters

weren't intended for a group of this type or a body of this size,security expert Lizzie Dearden told the BBC thatthey were not intended for an organization of this nature or semblance of

When (the Terrorism Act) was drafted in the late Nineties, the sort of terrorist group that was really being imagined were groups like the IRA, al-Qaeda, and other militant militant factions that were often operating abroad.

So the legislation is being enforced in a completely new way. The protesters defend Our Juries says there were more than 1,000 sign-holders at the rally, but a substantial number of them had not been arrested. That allegation simply isn't true, the Met Police said. Defend our Juries the turnoutreveals how repulsed and ashamed people are about our government's continuing participation in a livestreamed genocide.

Palestine Action and people holding cardboard signs pose no danger to the public at large,

the organization said.

Palestine Coalition and pro-Israeli group Stop the Hate, as well as the Palestine Action protest, were held on consecutive days in central London. As it faces a tumultuous weekend, the Metropolitan Police said it had drawn cops from other agencies to help create a serious policing presence in the capital. More than 200 people had been arrested around the country for similar crimes before the home secretary's ban was introduced last month. Two people and a man were charged on Thursday with propping a banned terror group. The Metropolitan Police said they will appear on September 16th at Westminster Magistrates' Court. The High Court found thatPalestine Action would be able to challenge its proscription at the end of July. The ban has been condemned to free expression, according to lawyers for Huda Ammori, and has acted like a gag on legitimate protests. The government argues that the ban is justified because it barely affects a group that has been involved in serious criminal activity. After activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in June, spraying two Voyager aircRAFt with red paint and causing £7 million worth of damage, MPs voted to prohibit the group. At the time, Palestine Action took responsibility for the incident.