Hundreds detained under UK terror laws as Amnesty
warns of free speech violations.
London, England — Metropolitan Police arrested 466
people in central London on Saturday for publicly supporting the banned
activist group Palestine Action, sparking a debate over the balance between
national security and freedom of expression.
The arrests took place during a demonstration at
Parliament Square, where crowds gathered to oppose the British government’s
recent decision to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws.
Police confirmed that, as of 9 p.m., hundreds had
been detained for displaying placards or other signs of support for the group.
Eight additional arrests were made for separate
offences, including five for assaults on officers. Authorities noted that no
officers sustained serious injuries.
Palestine Action is a UK-based network of activists
known for direct action against weapons manufacturers supplying the Israeli
military. In June, two members broke into Britain’s largest air base and
damaged military aircraft.
Following that incident, UK lawmakers voted in July
to proscribe the group, placing it alongside organizations such as Hamas and al
Qaeda under the Terrorism Act.
The ban makes it illegal to be a member of the
group or to invite support for it, with violations punishable by imprisonment.
On Saturday, the demonstration was organized by
Defend Our Juries, aiming to stage a mass act of defiance against the ban.
Organizers claimed over 1,000 people attended, while police estimated 500–600,
including media and onlookers.
An 80-year-old protester from Surrey told CNN she
joined to highlight what she called “a farce” of the government’s decision. She
described watching “a few being carried off by police” but said there were “not
enough officers to arrest all.”
Police said they were confident that anyone holding
a placard supporting Palestine Action was either arrested or in the process of
being detained.
Arrested protesters were taken to processing points
in Westminster. Those whose identities were confirmed were bailed on the
condition they not attend further demonstrations in support of the group.
A CNN team reported seeing scuffles between
protesters and police, with chants of “shame on you” from onlookers as officers
removed peaceful demonstrators.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper praised police for
“dealing with the very small number of people whose actions crossed the line
into criminality,” while defending the right to lawful protest.
However, Amnesty International UK condemned the
arrests as “a violation of the UK’s international obligations to protect
freedom of expression and assembly.”
Legal experts say the arrests could trigger
challenges in court, potentially testing the limits of the UK’s
counterterrorism laws.
Civil liberties groups have warned that the
government’s approach risks criminalizing dissent and discouraging peaceful
political activism.
As detainees were processed and Parliament Square
cleared, the political fallout from the mass arrests appeared far from over.