None of the 200 demonstrators arrested in the UK for supporting Palestine Action in recent weeks have been charged, campaigners have claimed, as they sought support for a protest on Saturday.
The direct action protest group was designated a terrorist organisation in July after it claimed to be behind millions of pounds worth of damage at a Royal Air Force base. The High Court has agreed to review the decision in November.
Until then, the ban means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, under the Terrorism Act 2000.
But Tim Crosland, a spokesman for the campaign group Defend Our Juries, said the group believes potential legal claims against police should proscription be deemed unlawful lay behind the lack of prosecutions.
“Nobody has been charged. It's important to say, and there's a sense that there aren't going to be any charges till the other side of the judicial review,” Mr Crosland said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
More than 500 people have committed to holding a sign saying “I Support Palestine Action” in Central London on Saturday, he said.
Mr Crosland, who is organising the protest alongside Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori, said they had received advice from solicitors that those arrested would be able to make legal claims against the police for “unlawful arrest” if the proscription order is eventually struck down.
“We've specifically asked them: if the order is struck down in November, does that open up the possibility for legal claims against the police for unlawful arrest and for trespass to people's property? And the answer to that was yes,” Mr Crosland said.
Ms Ammori said she was hopeful the decision would be overturned by then, but acknowledged there was a “substantial risk” in showing support for the group. “Obviously there is a substantial risk, but you know, we do hope to be successful in this legal challenge,” she said.
The British activist, of Palestinian and Iraqi heritage, sought an injunction to delay the proscription in early July, which was denied by the High Court. Last week, she was granted her bid to challenge the ban, though the terrorism designation will remain in place until then.
Further demonstrations are being planned for the coming months until the High Court ruling.
“If arresting and prosecuting more than 500 people is an absurd waste of public resources, that's not on us. We're not the ones who made this law. We're not the ones doing the arresting. We will keep going as long as people keep wanting to take part in this action,” Mr Crosland said.
The proscription has caused outcry, particularly from veteran campaigners who say that direct action has a long history in British politics, going all the way back to the Suffragettes.
Among those arrested was 83-year-old priest Sue Parfitt and an 81-year-old former magistrate.
Angie Zelter, a veteran peace protestor, said there was visible “discomfort” among the police making arrests at demonstrations supporting Palestine Action.
“There's a lot of discomfort amongst the police, because they are making a mockery of the definition of terrorism,” she said, adding that she plans to attend the demonstration on Saturday.
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Police officers remove a demonstrator during a protest in Parliament Square, London, calling for deproscription of Palestine Action. PA -
A large protest banner, attached to scaffolding opposite the central London headquarters of the Labour Party. Getty Images -
Police officers try to stop demonstrators from linking arms, during a protest against the group's designation as a terrorist organisation, in St Peter's Square in Manchester. Reuters -
A protester is arrested at Parliament Square in London. The banning of Palestine Action made membership of, or support for it a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Getty Images -
A Palestine Action activist outside the High Court in London. Getty Images -
A protester holds a Palestinian flag outside the Royal Courts of Justice in support of Palestine Action. Getty Images -
Protesters wave Palestinian flags as a prison van leaves Westminster Magistrates Court where members of Palestine Action appeared. They faced charges related to criminal damage and compromising the security of the United Kingdom after activists broke into RAF Brize Norton and sprayed paint on two Voyager planes. Getty Images -
A protester holds a sign reading 'We are all Palestine Action' during a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in London. Getty Images
Discussing the arrests, Mr Crosland said that in Derry, Edinburgh, Kendal and Chichester, police did not act. "It shows they can exercise common sense if they want to," he said.
"In London, people have been arrested under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act, which is the lesser of the two possible charges, and somewhere between six and 12 hours after a police interview in the police cells, people have been arrested without charge.
"In Cardiff, people were arrested under Section 12, which is an offence punishable with 14 years' imprisonment - doing exactly the same thing, holding the same sign, quietly sitting - they were held in police custody beyond the 24-hour maximum. The time was extended under the terrorism laws while those people's houses were raided."
The Metropolitan Police have been contacted by The National over the claims it is holding back on bringing charges.
However, it has warned it would arrest demonstrators on Saturday and suggested that they were attempting to put the UK's overcrowded criminal justice system under further pressure.
“We are aware that the organisers of Saturday’s planned protest are encouraging hundreds of people to turn out with the intention of placing a strain on the police and the wider criminal justice system,” a representative of the force said.
“The Met is very experienced in dealing with large-scale protests, including where the protest activity crosses into criminality requiring arrests. Our officers will continue to apply the law in relation to Palestine Action as we have done since its proscription. Anyone showing support for the group can expect to be arrested.”
The move to ban Palestine Action came after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, which police said caused about £7 million worth of damage.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action three days later, saying the vandalism of the planes was "disgraceful" and the group had a "long history of unacceptable criminal damage".
